My Life Changed in an Instant
by MadMadLove
Summary: Waking up and not remembering the last 10 months of your life is a challenge.  Waking up and finding out you are married to a SRU negotiator is a shock.  Story deals with retrograde amnesia.  Story will be a M rating in later chapters.  Parker/OFC.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the most amazing show on television – Flashpoint. I am writing this fiction for enjoyment purposes only. I have created an OFC named Gwendolyn, so yes, she's mine. **

**Chapter 1**

**Gwendolyn's POV**

My eyes felt heavy. They were closed so I shouldn't have been able to feel them anyway, but they still felt heavy. I heard voices.

No, that wasn't right. I heard one voice. It was far away though. One voice kept repeating my name.

I tried and managed to open my eyes but I couldn't focus on anything in particular. Everything was blurry and the lights were too bright. I closed my eyes and tried again. This time I was able to focus on the wall, the lights, and the dark shadows in my peripheral vision. Those must be people.

I closed my eyes again, and the third time I opened them I could see more details of where I was. I wondered where I was as I couldn't place anything.

When I could focus on something, it was Emmett's face that I saw. Of course I recognized Emmett. He was one of my brothers, and my favourite brother, but I would never tell Shane that. It would hurt his feelings. I wouldn't tell Emmett that either as that would give him a big ego boost.

"Gwenny? I'm…glad…Can...hear me? …here."

I saw Emmett's lips move, but his voice went in and out, so I must have missed a few words. It sounded like he was far away, but he wasn't. He was close enough for me to touch him. I blinked a few more times, trying to clear my vision. Or maybe it was my head that was pounding that was causing me to feel groggy.

I turned my head to the left and saw a man. I thought it might be my brother Shane, but it wasn't. This man was a police officer. He was in a uniform. Him, I didn't recognize. He smiled at me. It was a bit unnerving. I turned my head toward Emmett again and opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. My whole mouth was dry.

"Don't speak, little sister. I'll go get you some juice," I heard Emmett's voice louder and clearer this time.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. I felt weak. Tired. Unfocussed. When I opened them again, things were a bit clearer. I was in a hospital. That didn't bother me that much, as I was a doctor, so I was always at the hospital. But working at the hospital and being a patient at a hospital were two different things altogether. I tried to recall any events that would have landed me in the hospital, but I came up blank.

"Gwenny?"

Emmett's pet name for me had always annoyed me, but I was really glad that it was his familiar face I saw when I first opened my eyes.

I moved my left hand to hold the cup of juice Emmett was holding out for me and that is when I realized that the police officer was holding my left hand. He let it go of course, but he kept staring at me with what could only be called puppy dog eyes. Emmett was the king of puppy dog eyes, and it got me every time he used them.

After I drank enough juice to wet my throat, I managed to say, "what happened?"

Emmett's eyes glazed over with tears. I was a little shocked. I couldn't remember the last time my brother's eyes filled with tears. It just didn't happen. He was 'tough' guy. It must have been serious for my brother to tear up like that.

"Gwen, you fell down the stairs. You hit your head." He paused. "I found you and couldn't wake you. I don't know how long you were at the bottom of the stairs. I'm so glad that you're alright now."

I smiled a little, but even that effort took a lot out of me.

Then the police officer to my left picked up my hand again and kissed it.

It felt weird. Really weird. I pulled my hand back and stared at him.

"Who are…?" No that wasn't right. Who was he…he was obviously a police officer. I started again, "why are you here?" I really didn't know how else to put it. I mean, I had never met the guy before and here he was holding and kissing my hand.

"Why wouldn't Parker be here?" Emmett asked.

Emmett's question threw me. This Parker was obviously a friend of Emmett's.

Parker was giving me this intense look. Must be the cope stare. I had to look away again.

"Em, do we know him?"

Emmett looked at me really strange. "You don't recognize him?"

I looked at the police officer again. His eyes were even sadder looking, making the puppy dog look really sad.

"Did you save my life?" I asked.

A tear fell from Parker's eyes and he lowered his head into his other hand.

"Sis. Look at me."

I looked at Emmett.

"What do you remember?"

I remembered…I remembered Dad dying and leaving me a file. I remembered learning that Dad wasn't really my biological Dad, and that I had a father running around somewhere out there. I had another family out there and that I wanted to find them. I remembered learning that I had two new brothers, and their names were Ed and Roy Lane. I remembered fighting with my brother Shane when I said I was going to make contact with Ed. I remember making the decision to make contact with Ed Lane.

When I told Emmett all of this, he looked mad. At least that was what it looked like to me. It was weird though. Emmett had supported me in my need to find my other brothers, so I couldn't understand why he was mad at me.

"Crap. Parker she can't remember – "

"I know, Emmett. Let's just slow this down. Sweetheart, what day is it?"

I looked over at Parker again. I thought about it. "May…the 15th?. I think"

Parker just nodded his head.

Emmett started to get agitated again. "That's like 10 months ago. 10 months of memories gone!"

"Emmett, stop." Parker held his hand up, almost like he was surrendering. It looked unusual for a police officer to hold his hands up like that.

Then Emmett's words finally got through to me. 10 months. I got scared. "I've been in a coma for 10 months?" I started moving my legs and arms, just to make sure that the muscles were still working. They seemed in perfect shape.

Parker shook his head. "No, sweetheart. You fell last night, but you are awake now. Let's just focus on that, okay? Everything else will come back."

I nodded my head. It made sense. I still felt groggy.

Parker let go of my hand and stood up. "Emmett, I'll go get the doctor and tell them that my – Gwendolyn, that she's awoken. Someone needs to check her."

Emmett looked at me. "You'll be alright Gwenny. You'll see. Everything will work out."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Emmett's POV**

The doctor was in with Gwen for fifteen minutes. I wanted to be in the room with her, but the doctor wanted to talk with my sister alone.

When he came out, the doctor explained it to me. Amnesia. This sucked. Ten months worth of memories gone! My sister was going to be in for a shock. So much had changed in the last ten months. So much.

I looked at Gregory Parker. He was the biggest change in Gwen's life and she didn't remember him. Yup. My sister was going to in for a shock.

"Parker, what are you going to tell Gwen?"

Parker gave me one of those cop stares again. He's been doing that a lot since the previous night.

"Emmett, I think it would be best if you told Gwendolyn about the last 10 months."

Hmm. Didn't see that coming, but I guess I should have. It made the most sense. Gwen would be more comfortable about hearing things from me than from Parker, who was now a stranger. It wouldn't be too bad. I mean, Gwen wasn't one to get spooked easily, but this, well this would spook anyone.

"Did you call Ed? Roy?"

Parker nodded his head. "Yeah, Ed's going to pick up Roy. They'll be here."

I knew they would. They were both great like that. Family meant the world to those two, and Gwen was family.

"She's going to ask a lot of questions, Parker. Especially about you. I don't want to freak her out, but I don't see how not to do that."

"Just talk to her Emmett. Try and keep her calm and tell the truth. Don't let your emotions get the better of you. Keep your voice steady and as normal as you can. She's going to raise her voice, just stay focussed on what's important – her health and her family."

"You know – sometimes I really hate that you're a negotiator. You make entirely too much sense!"

Parker smiled a little. At least I got that smile out of him. He was going to be in for a long, tough run in the future, and I doubt Gwen would make it easy on him.

**Gwendolyn's POV**

Doctor Raj told me what I already suspected from my limited conversation with my brother and the police officer. I had retrograde amnesia. I could recall my memories up until about 10 months ago. I had the ability to make new memories, so that wasn't too worrisome. It was just those 10 months in between that I had to worry about.

10 months was a long time. It was almost a year out of my life. How many operations had I done in those 10 months that I couldn't remember. How many family get-togethers couldn't I remember. What important things have I forgotten.

Emmett came back in.

"Hey sis."

Emmett was nervous. Well that wasn't new considering we were in a hospital. Emmett really didn't like hospitals, and well, I was the baby in the family, so seeing me like this would make anyone nervous.

"I feel fine Emmett. Well, not really fine, but good enough. So ten months, huh?"

"Yup. Ten months."

"I've got some questions."

Now Emmett looked like he was going to be sick.

"You cut your hair." Okay, so it wasn't a question, but more of a statement. Emmett cut off his long hair and that meant something. He loved his long hair.

"I've sported this haircut for awhile now. Um…"

"You've found someone?"

Emmett smiled and I knew he was in deep with whoever she was.

"Rachel. Her name is Rachel, and yeah, it's serious. We just got engaged."

I was stunned. Wow, a lot can change in 10 months.

"You helped me pick out the ring, you know. But she doesn't know that. Rachel thinks I'm this big hero for picking out a ring all by myself. You love Rachel too, by the way."

I nodded my head. How do you love someone you can't remember?

"And she loves you, too! She's a doctor. Well, not like you, but a vet. And she loves animals, and has 2 dogs. And she's tall, like me. Well she's 5'11", but I'm 6'5", so…"

Emmett trailed off.

"So you love her. I get it. I can't wait to meet her. Again." This was awkward.

"Shane," I began again, "is he still mad at me?"

Emmett shook his head. "Nah, he got over it, once he met Ed."

"Ed Lane. My brother?"

"Yeah. You and he get along great."

"Is he nice?"

"Who, Ed? Yeah he's nice. He loves you. They both do. Him and Roy. Although Roy's a little weird. But you know Ed, well Ed's Ed. He and Shane didn't hit it off right away, cuz of the whole 'alpha male' thing. But now they are good."

I got the feeling that Emmett was keeping something big from me.

"So what's going on in my life then? Anything change?"

Emmett swallowed hard. Ah, so something did change.

My brother was pretty easy to read, and he was making it even easier when he made these big gestures.

"Well…you sort of…met someone."

Well, that was new. After my husband died, I didn't think I would find someone else.

"Oh. Do I love him?"

"Disgustingly so." Emmett responded quickly.

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Was Emmett not happy with the man I was currently with? Did they not get along? Was he wrong for me?

"Gwenny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in a bad way. Yes, you met someone and it's a good thing. The guy is great. You love him. God, you love him. I've never seen you so happy."

"Oh. How long have we been together?"

"About 9 months."

Well that ruled out a fling of some kind. Not that I was that type of girl, but 9 months is a long time.

"What's his name?"

Emmett smiled a little. "Um…Greg."

I was shocked. Greg was the name of my husband - Greg Grayson. To find another Greg…well that must be very awkward.

"But you don't call him that name."

I think Emmett saw the relief that crossed my face. "What do I call him?"

"You call him by his last name, Parker. You call him Parker."

My heart felt like it stopped for a second.

"Parker? The cop? I'm dating the cop that was in here?" I winced as I heard my voice. Even I heard the crack in it.

"Well, no, you're not dating him…" Emmett's voice trailed off.

"Oh, okay. Then who is he?"

Emmet took a deep breathe. "Try not to panic, okay?"

I merely raised my eyebrows at him. Telling someone not to panic is going to produce the exact opposite result.

"Parker and you aren't dating, because that would be weird you know, since he's kind of…your husband."

"Parker is my what!"

"Husband. It was a small wedding. You didn't want a big one. You looked beautiful, by the way, and the whole family was there, and – "

"You're telling me that I married a cop?" I had to interrupt Emmett from his ongoing dialogue.

"Yeah. Shocked me when I found out you two were dating, but you two have a lot in common. I guess the heart loves who the heart loves."

My mind was processing this new information as fast as it could.

"But he's old, and…bald"

Emmett just laughed. "Now how come when I said those exact words you took a spatula and smacked me on the head with it!"

Emmett thought this was a joke. It wasn't. "Emmett, that man can't be my husband. He just can't. I wouldn't marry a cop. And I certainly wouldn't marry and an old man."

"He's 41."

"What?"

"Parker. He's 41."

I'm 30, no wait, I would have had a birthday by now, so I'm 31. I guess 41 wasn't so bad. "He's still bald."

"Eh, he can't change that. He wears hats a lot."

"And he's a cop."

"Yup. He's one of the thinking cops though."

"Aren't they all supposed to think? What's a thinking cop?"

"It's what you told Shane the first time he asked who Parker was. Parker's a negotiator for the SRU."

"Oh."

Well that made a little sense. A negotiator would be smart, easy to talk to, and understanding. I could see those as being qualities I was attracted too.

"How long have we been married?"

"3 months."

"So it was a Christmas wedding?"

"Yup."

"I married him after dating him for 6 months?"

"Yup."

"And I love him?"

"Yup."

"And he loves me?"

"Yup."

"Stop saying 'yup'."

"Gwenny, listen to me. Parker loves you. I mean, he really loves you. You should have seen him last night. The guy is trained not to panic, but he did when it was about you."

"Okay, so I married a man that I don't remember, but one who I love and who loves me. Great. I never thought my life would be this complicated."

Emmett just smiled at me and said, "Yup."

If I could have reached the small giraffe, I think I might have smacked him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 -**Normal POV

Ed walked through the hospital at a quick pace. He knew where he was headed and nothing would deter him from reaching his destination. Ed's younger brother was just a few paces behind them. Ed expected to see Parker standing outside his sister's door, and as they turned a corner, he wasn't disappointed. Parker stood leaning against the hospital wall. He was still in his SRU uniform, which told Ed that that his boss hadn't gone home since he came to the hospital last night.

Ed Lane clearly recalled the call from the ambulance being patched through to Parker. Emmett had called 911 when he found his sister lying in an awkward position at the bottom of the stairs. When he couldn't wake her up, he started to become frantic. Gwen must have tripped and fallen down the stairs as she was carrying a load of laundry.

"Boss, she awake?"

"Eddie…yeah, she's awake."

Ed noticed the slight hesitation in Parker's voice.

"What? What's going on?"

"Eddie…she doesn't remember…"

"What? What are you talking about - she doesn't remember. Like amnesia? She doesn't remember anything?"  
>"No, she remembers everything up until about 10 months ago."<p>

Roy looked at Ed and then at Parker. "So she doesn't remember any of us?" he asked.

Parker nodded his head, but kept his gaze on Ed.

Being Ed, he wouldn't accept the word 'doesn't'. "Have you seen her yet, boss? Maybe she just needs to see you and she'll remember you?"

"Ed…she looked at me and didn't even recognize me. She asked me why I was at her bedside when she woke up."

"Is she awake now?" Ed asked.

"Yes. She's awake."

"Well, why the hell aren't you in there talking to her?"

"Eddie…"

"Greg, this is what we do. We find that connection." Ed paused as he looked at Parker. The man was hurting. "Greg, she's your wife. She loves you. So what if she doesn't remember right now? You've got to talk to her. Roy and I will wait here."

"We will?" Roy asked.

Ed just gave him a look.

"Fine, yeah, we'll stay here. Good idea. Sorry, correction, great idea," Roy mumbled.

Parker walked slowly towards Gwen's room. As he entered, Parker found his wife laughing with his brother-in-law. Gwen stopped laughing when she caught sight of him though and tensed up.

"Hi. Do you think it would be okay if I stayed for a bit?" Parker asked.

Emmett walked over and slapped Greg on the shoulder. "C'mon in Parker." Emmett looked at his sister who had gone very quiet and very still. "Yup. No tension in this room. None whatsoever."

Gwen glared at her brother.

"Well, I'm just going to let you two lovebirds talk and stuff," Emmett said as he left the room.

Parker just stared at his wife. He didn't want to get too close to her as he wanted her to feel as comfortable as possible.

Gwen took a breath in and looked down for a few second, indicating that she was uncomfortable with the situation and Parker couldn't blame her. Waking up and finding out you had a husband couldn't be easy.

"Hi…," was all Gwen said.

Parker gave a reassuring half smile. "Hi." He paused. "Did you need me to get you anything?"

"No. Um, Parker? Emmett says that you're my…husband."

Parker nodded his head. "Yes, Gwendolyn, I am."

Gwen looked a little surprised. "You call me Gwendolyn?"

Parker smiled wide this time. "I do. I've always loved that name. The first time I called you by that name, well, you said that you loved the way your name sounded when it came out of my mouth."

Gwen nodded her head. Parker saw that she was processing things, and that he would have to go slow. He was good at slow.

"They are going to release me in a few hours. I guess since I am a doctor I get to go home…Do you live with me? No, wait, that's stupid. Of course you would live with me. You're my husband. We live together. Oh God, we probably sleep in the same bed, and, well, there's always that thing that happens in bed…" Gwen knew she was blushing. She could feel her body heat up. She hadn't blushed in a long time, but just thinking about the sex she must have had with your husband, well it was enough to make anyone blush; even if she couldn't remember any of it, Parker did, and that embarrassed her. He had seen her naked.

Parker was surprised that his wife was blushing at the thought of sex. Gwendolyn loved sex, even more than he did.

"Gwendolyn. We live together. You moved in to my house, our house, but you still kept your house as Alfred lives there– "

"Oh God, Al. Is he okay? I mean, you didn't tell him that I was in the hospital did you?"

"Of course I did. He's your best friend."

"Did you call him and let him know that I'm alright?"

Parker nodded his head. "I did. I let your brother's know too. They are here waiting outside."

"Shane is waiting outside with Emmett?"

Parker hesitated. "No, Shane's working and will come by after work. Sweetheart, it's Ed and Roy that are outside." The endearment had slipped out, but since he used it so often, he couldn't stop calling Gwen 'sweetheart'.

"I don't want to see them," Gwen blurted out.

Parker pursed his lips at the outburst.

"It's not like that. I mean…I don't remember them and I don't want the first time I see them to be in the hospital with me as a patient. Could you…could you tell them that I'm fine and maybe I could see them at your home later on. I really want to meet them."

Parker noticed the 'your home' bit and not 'our' home, but didn't comment on it.

"Sure, I'll let them know."

Gwen nodded.

"Parker…do you think we could order some pizza tonight for dinner? I'm a little hungry."

If Greg Parker was asked to run a training course in under 1 minute flat, hearing that one question asked of him by his wife would have made all the difference in the world. She was willing to go home with him, and with that little bit of information gleamed, Parker knew that he had made some progress.


	4. Chapter 4

**Fanfictionfan63: **Thanks so much for reviewing my story. I already have the whole outline for my story completed, so it is just a matter of writing it to completion. And sorry, I think I'll be sticking to normal point of view from now on. It's just easier to write in :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Gwen had phoned Alfred the moment Parker left the room. She knew Alfred would be worried. Alfred did nothing but worry about her.

Alfred was his usual demanding self, wanting to know when he could come and visit his darling little Gwen at her home. When Gwen said she could pop over for the night and stay with him, Alfred called her on her nerves. Alfred, being 74 years of age, and living through a war, had enough life experience to realize that Gwen was being a coward and wanted to back out of going home with her husband. Alfred told Gwen that her home was with Parker and that she needn't worry so much as Parker adored her. This did nothing to reassure Gwen's nerves as her head kept telling her that she was going to a house with a man who was basically a stranger, yet everyone kept telling her that Parker loved her.

The car ride was silent. Gwen kept looking out the window to see if she would recognize anything. She knew that something was going to jog her memory and all she would have to do is wait. But the waiting was hard.

When Parker pulled up to his house, Gwen was disappointed, but tried very hard not to show the disappointment on her face. Parker's home was much smaller than her home with Alfred. The thought caused her to stop a moment as she realized the implication behind the thought. Gwen wasn't trying to be a snob, but she had a perfectly good home that Alfred was living in, and Parker's home, while nice enough, was not her idea of a perfectly good home.

Parker opened the car door for her and helped her out. Gwen thought Parker might be old fashioned, but then she thought he might be helping her so that she wouldn't fell woozy and fall over with the sudden movement. Together they walked up the steps to the front door. Gwen was glad that Parker did not hold her hand or attempt to guide her to the front door. She didn't feel like she could handle the smothering.

Gwen heard the jingle of keys and knew that Parker was opening the door. She hesitated when the door swung open and Parker stepped aside. He motioned for Gwen to enter, but Gwen wasn't sure if she actually wanted to. Part of her wanted to turn around and walk away, while the other part of her was telling her that she was being ridiculous. Both her brother and her best friend had told her that Parker was not some crazy loon and that she entered the marriage with him because she loved him. She obviously lived in this house with her so called husband, so something inside might trigger her memory. Gwen took one step forward, and then another, until she was standing inside a home she didn't recognize from the outside or in.

Parker observed Gwen's posture as she stepped by him, one foot at a time. Her hands were locked around her body and she stood very rigid. Her eyes, however, were darting around, trying to absorb as much as she could. Parker knew this night was going to be difficult for Gwen.

"Sweetheart, would you like me to show you around?"

Gwen looked at Parker. He seemed to like calling her 'sweetheart', and Gwen wasn't sure how she felt about it. It felt strange when a man called you 'sweetheart', especially when he said it so sincerely and you had no feelings for him.

"No, that's okay. I think I just want to look around myself. Sometimes the smallest thing can jog a person's memory."

Parker nodded. "I'll order a pizza."

Gwen went to say something but Parker continued. "I know…no pepperoni. I'll just order chicken, bacon, broccoli on one half for you and steak, ham, and chicken on the other half. Would you like a salad?"

Gwen nodded in agreement and Parker shuffled off.

Gwen took her time looking around. When she entered, she briefly scanned the room, but nothing seemed to jump out at her. It seemed like an ordinary room.

Gwen had thought about what she needed to remember part of the last 10 months in the car ride to Parker's house – a computer. Her emails would be there and she would have access to at least some written notes. They wouldn't be able to tell her all the information she would need, but they would be able some things at least.

Gwen looked for a computer on the main floor, and finding none, she glanced at the staircase that led to the upper level. Deciding that a computer was most likely in one of the rooms on the second floor, Gwen quickly climbed them. She found a small netbook in the master bedroom on a side table. She opened it, but didn't recognize the netbook and wondered if it was hers or if it was Parker's.

A password prompt came up. Gwen entered 'buggerthepassword'. It didn't work. She tried 'passwordsarestupid'. It didn't work. Gwen couldn't think what the password might be, so she thought that maybe the netbook was Parker's.

"Gwendolyn?"

Gwen had forgotten about Parker until she heard his voice from the door.

At first Parker had thought that Gwen had left the house when he entered the living room and found her missing. A quick glance at the door provided Parker with the knowledge that Gwen had not left the house. Parker did a quick run through downstairs before realizing that Gwen was most likely on the second level. As he reached the second landing, Parker saw the light on in their bedroom and figured that Gwen had simply found her way to their bedroom.

Now he stood looking at his wife from the doorway.

Gwen looked up and felt like she was guilty for something. "I'm sorry, I thought this was mine. I don't remember…"

Parker held both his hands up in a 'please don't shoot me' kind of way. Gwen thought this might be a residual cop thing creeping into real life situation. "The netbook is yours Gwendolyn."

"Oh…do you know the password?"

"No."

"I didn't tell you the password for my computer?"

"You just bought it a couple of days ago. Spike helped you set everything up. I could ask him to break your password tomorrow."

"Spike? I know a Spike?"

"He works with me, at the SRU."

Whether she was aware of it or not, Gwen nodded her head. "Right, the SRU. Do you work with Ed or Roy?"

"Ed. He's my lead sniper."

Gwen's face fell. Ed was a sniper. She knew he was a police officer but didn't know much else.

"Ed's a…sniper? Oh. He…shoots people?"

Parker's lips visibly flinched. He'd forgotten how much Gwen didn't like anything dealing with tactics or firearms. It was like starting his relationship with her all over again.

"Sometimes he has no choice and sometimes he's given the order to take someone out. But that is only after every option is exhausted."

Gwen really didn't want to ask the next question that formed in her head, but the words were out so fast that she couldn't take them back. "Who gives the orders?"

Parker suspected that he would have to answer this question sooner or later. He just thought that it would be a lot later than 10 minutes upon entering their home together. "I give the order, Gwendolyn. I'm the Team Sergeant."

Gwen placed the netbook carefully on the bed before pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. The image was not lost on Parker, and he knew that his wife was physically trying to protect herself from the answers he had provided.

"Oh. Why would you want to do that job?" Realizing what she had just said, Gwen backtracked, "I mean, I know it's your job, but…wow…I couldn't. I mean, I don't even like guns. They're cold and they cause a lot of damage. I've operated on the damage they do, and it's not…"

"I know the damage they do Gwendolyn. My team and I, we make decisions everyday that can change a situation from bad to better or worse. But I also know what it's like to keep the peace and get people home to their families. That is always what we want, sweetheart, to get people home safe to their families. And that is why I wake up every morning and go to work."

"Have I ever asked you to quit?"

Parker was a little taken back by Gwen's question. He had just gone through this situation with Ed and Sophie. "No, you've never asked me to quit."

Gwen released her arms from around her body and let them hang beside her on the bed. "I didn't think I would. I just wanted to be sure though. I hate this feeling of not remembering."

"I can't imagine what you are going through Gwendolyn, but I do know that you're trying, and that's making a difference. I'll answer anything you want. Don't feel like you've got to tip toe around questions with me."

"Thanks, Parker. Um, do I, um, we, do we have a main computer around?"

"Yes. It's in your office."

"I have an office?" Gwen's face lit up, and Parker couldn't help but smile back.

"Yes, it was the one thing you insisted on when you moved in. You wanted a place for all of your research and, for lack of a better term, stuff."

Gwen jumped off the bed. "When is dinner?"

Parker smiled. At least some things never changed – His wife could always be sidetracked with food.


	5. Chapter 5

**Fanfictionfan63: **I really am trying to make the story as realistic as possible. I have never had amnesia but a friend went through it and I picked her brain after she got most of her memories back.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Gwen's night was long. She kept waking up, and not recognizing her surroundings made her panic a little. The master bedroom was nice enough, she thought. It was painted a medium shade of brown. It had a walk in closet, which Gwen had roughly inspected. She wasn't surprised to see that Parker's clothes took up one quarter of the space, while hers took up the rest. Gwen looked over her clothes. Some she recognized, some she didn't. All were her taste though.

Gwen was tempted to set the alarm for the morning, but knew her body would wake up early anyway. The only reason she wanted to wake early was to scope out the rest of the house without Parker hanging over her shoulder. Not that Parker had done that the previous night. In fact, as Gwen noticed, he did little to get in her way of looking around.

To Gwen's great relief, Parker gave her the master bedroom and he slept in the guest bedroom. When she woke in the morning and walked past the guest bedroom as the door was still closed so Parker was most likely asleep.

Gwen tiptoed past the door and down the flight of stairs. Half of her felt like she was doing the wrong thing by snooping in someone else's house, but then she reminded herself that technically, this was half hers so she needn't feel guilty.

Gwen had accessed her email account the evening before and managed to relearn quite a bit about the last ten months. For starters, Gwen felt comfortable with Emmett's relationship with this Rachael girl. In her list of opened emails, some were from Rachel and some had pictures. Pictures helped, but they were still weird to look at. There were pictures of herself with her arms snuggled around Parker, and Gwen still wasn't sure how she felt about them. It was obvious from the pictures that their relationship was normal and loving, but Gwen still didn't feel anything.

So Gwen went downstairs to snoop. Most of the furniture and other stuff around her were unrecognizable, so Gwen assumed that these were Parker's things. She noticed a few of her prized collection of elephant trinkets around, which made her feel better, and some of the books in the bookshelf were hers as well. It was easy telling which things were Parker's and which things were hers.

Gwen was still wanting to snoop a little more when her stomach rumbled. She shrugged to herself and went straight to the kitchen. Gwen walked to the fridge and opened it. She wasn't surprised to find it stocked with food. Quickly she found some eggs, milk, cheese and onions and went about making breakfast. Gwen didn't even try to keep quiet while making breakfast as she wanted Parker to wake up. She didn't know why, she just did.

Gwen set the water to boil in the kettle and began looking for her green tea. She knew that if she lived here, she would have her loose leaf green tea somewhere. Gwen opened the pantry shelf and noticed a box at eye level. It was a lock box. Gwen thought it was a weird place to keep it but grabbed the keys next to the box and opened it.

"Holy crap!" The words were out of her mouth so fast that she couldn't stop them. Gwen had found Parker's firearm. Tentatively Gwen reached to close the lid of the box. She closed the pantry door and took a step back, simply staring at the door. It didn't occur to her until this very moment that Parker would most likely have a gun in the house. She knew that Parker would know how to use a firearm. It was just the difference between knowing and actually seeing the physical gun that had shaken her.

It was the knock at the front door that startled Gwen. Whoever was knocking had done so rather quietly, and Gwen realized that the knock was most likely for Parker. She went to the door and could see Ed standing there. She didn't recognize Ed straight away, but she recalled the pictures around the house and the ones on her email to help fill in the blanks. Gwen let Ed in, and tried to give him a sweet smile. Ed went to give her a hug, but Gwen's body tensed.

"Sorry, forgot," was all Ed said. "You sleep okay, Gwen?"

"Yes. I slept alone."

Ed simply raised his eyebrows at the statement. Gwen wasn't sure why she added the last part, but it was too late to take it back now. When she was nervous, things tended to spill out, and Gwen was nervous.

"So, the boss nearly ready?"

"Boss? Parker is your boss. Right. Um I don't think he's awake yet."

Gwen paused and looked at Ed. This was the brother that she was going to find. She had so many questions for him, but at the moment her mind and mouth didn't seem to be working together.

"Hey boss!" Ed yelled, "time to wake up, sunshine!"

Ed looked back at his sister. She looked like she always did when she was thinking of how to say something - Her lips were pursed close.

"Whatever it is, just ask."

Gwen looked at Ed with her green eyes. "Why do cops keep their gun in the house? Can't you guys just keep it at the station?"

Ed internally rolled his eyes, but outwardly his face was serious. "You find Greg's firearm?"

"Yes."

"Did you touch it?"

"Of course not!"

"Good. Keep it that way, little sister."

"Eddie…," Parker's voice was somewhat commanding. He had come down the stairs in a pair of jeans and a dress shirt. Gwen thought he might have been up for awhile.

"Hey, remember what happened the last time she touched your firearm? All I'm saying." Ed simply shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

Gwen looked at Parker and asked, "What happened last time?"

Parker groaned. "You dropped it, and it landed in a bucket filled with soapy water."

"You let me hold your gun?"

"No. You decided to clean the floors when you went into the pantry to look for the mop when you found my firearm. You picked it up and were looking at it when I came around the corner. I accidentally startled you and it slipped out of your hand and into the bucket filled with soapy water."

"Oh…oops."

Ed just laughed. "Oops? That's it – just 'oops'? Civilians, man!"

Gwen wasn't sure whether she should laugh or be insulted by Ed's comment.

Parker looked at Gwen. "Is something burning?"

"Oh crap, the eggs!"

"Boss, we got to go."

"Give me a minute Eddie. I'll meet you in the car."

Ed nodded. "See you later Gwen!"

"Bye," Gwen yelled from the kitchen.

Parker entered the kitchen. "I've got to go to work now."

"Oh, okay."

"I should be home around 7. I'll call if I have to stay late to finish reports."

"Okay. Um…just be safe, okay."

Parker smiled at his wife. She had been saying that everyday since she moved in with him. Of course it usually was "be safe, I love you", but he would take what he got.

"I'll be safe."

Eddie let Parker stare off into space for a few moments before he questioned him.

"So, how'd last night go?"

"I don't think she's as scared of me as she was before we left the hospital. Did you know she phoned Alfred and asked if she could stay at her home with him?"

"Do you blame her? She can't remember you, Greg."

"I know."

There was a pause.

"I told her I'd move into Dean's room and she could have the bedroom."

Eddie nodded. "She mentioned sleeping alone. Does she remember Dean?"

"No. I told her I'd stay in the guest bedroom. Ed, I heard her lock the door to our bedroom last night."

"Are you really surprised? I'd do the same thing if I was her."

Parker nodded. "Yeah, I know."

Another pause.

"She went through her emails last night. I think that helped piece together some of the last 10 months. And you know how meticulous she is about recording all her patient logs."

"Yeah. A bit of an overkill in that area for sure."

Parker smiled at Ed's comment. Ed and Gwen were vastly different. Ed hated filling out reports, while Gwen always made sure her reports were detailed and up to date. "Just because you like to play over doing any kind of reports, Ed…"

"True. How do you think she's holding up? I went to hug her and she basically stiffened up like a battling ram before I remembered that she doesn't remember me."

"I got that to. I went to kiss her last night and she bolted around me."

Ed glanced at Parker for a brief second before looking back at traffic. "How are you holding up?"

Parker sighed and slouched down in his seat. "I'm good Eddie. I just want my Gwendolyn back."

"We all do, boss."

"I know. I bet she's compiling a list of questions she needs answered as we speak."

Ed laughed. "It's what you love about her, boss. She's organized, just like you!"

Parker huffed. It was going to be a long day, and an even longer night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Earlier that day, Gwen got a text from Parker saying that he was picking up dinner and Gwen wondered if he did that often. Gwen liked to cook. She enjoyed taking her time making dishes, and she enjoyed creating things from scratch. Gwen also loved when she didn't have to cook and someone else thought of getting take-out or cooking for her. What woman didn't like it when a man cooked a meal for her?

All day Gwen had busied herself with by taking a close look around the house. She went through drawers and hard copy files, caught up on past patients, and looked over basically everything in the master bedroom, not to mention the rooms downstairs as well. As she went along, Gwen thought of questions that she wanted answers to. She wrote them down on paper, if paper was handy, and then typed them on the computer when she was near it. Parker had called from work around six and said that Ed was dropping him off, so he would be on time. Gwen wasn't too concerned as Parker was with her new brother.

When Parker entered the house, Gwen was waiting patiently in sight. Parker smiled when he saw her, and Gwen gave Parker a cautious smile. Parker was pleased with the smile.

Gwen had a lot of patience, but sometimes she couldn't help blurting things out. She waited a full couple of minutes before blurting out, "Parker, I have some questions."

Parker turned his head so as to look like he was untying his shoes before slipping them off, but really he was trying to hide a grin. "Let me see your list, sweetheart."

Gwen was relieved that Parker was not looking at her for her face took on a sheepish look. "Oh. You knew I'd make a list?"

Parker turned his head so that Gwen could see the friendly smile that spread across his face. "Yes, I knew. You love making lists."

Gwen handed Parker the list that she conveniently had tucked behind her back, and he read it over briefly. It was typed and numbered and very thorough. It was everything he thought it would be. "Maybe we could take one question at a time."

"Okay."

"Did you write them in any particular order?" Parker asked.

"No. I just kept jotting them down as I thought of them. What's in your hand?"

Parker picked up the bag that he had brought in and set down before taking off his shoes. He wiggled the bag for emphasis. In it was amazing homemade food. "Sophie made dinner for us. All it needs is to be warmed up. We can discuss your questions after dinner if you'd like."

"Sophie?"

Parker immediately felt sad. Here was yet again another person who Gwen didn't remember. "Sophie is Ed's wife. She is your sister-in-law."

"Ed is married?"

"Yes. They have 2 children. A boy and a girl."

Gwen smiled. "I'm an aunt?"

Parker had to try very hard to keep the smile off of his face. Being an aunt meant the world to Gwen as both Shane and Emmett had yet to have kids. Emmett was on his way with getting married, but Shane was very much a bachelor and it didn't look like he would change anytime soon. "Yes, sweetheart, you're an aunt."

"Wow."

"Yup."

"What did Sophie make us?"

Parker felt it safe to give Gwen a great big smile. He was so grateful for Sophie making dinner for them. It was one less thing he had to worry about. Sophie had texted Ed and let him know to head straight home to pick up food before dropping Parker off. "Thai salmon with pineapple fried rice."

"Really? That's one of my favourite things to eat. Did she really make it? Is there dessert?"

Parker chuckled at the last question. "White chocolate brownie."

"Another one of my favourites. I'll take the bag, and you can look over the questions. Some are yes and no questions, while others are…more in depth. I'd really like to know the answers to all of them please."

Parker handed Gwen the bag of food as he took another glance at her questions. Gwen was correct in stating that some would require a yes/no responses, while others he deemed unimportant. Still, some appeared to be random questions, while others were extremely serious ones.

"Sweetheart, here's an easy one, 'Why do you own a pink shirt, and do you wear it out in public?'"

"Oh, yeah, about that. I looked around the house today trying to see if something would spark my memory. Nothing happened. Well?" Gwen asked as she took out two plates from the cupboard.

Parker realized that Gwen must have looked the entire kitchen over if she knew where to find the plates for dinner, but he made no comment, just an observation.

"I bought the shirt online, and when it arrived, the shirt was pink, not purple. I've worn it once in public. It did get a lot of attention."

"Oh."

Parker's lips twitched because he knew exactly what that 'oh' meant. "You don't like the shirt?"

Gwen internally debated with her answer and in the end she went with the truth. "No. I don't like pink shirts on men. It's just the wrong colour for them."

Parker's lips twitched again. "It's just a colour."

"I know. I wear blue so men should be okay to wear pink. I get it. Okay next question."

"Sweetheart, how about if I tell you about myself a little first before we get to your questions. We can still get to your questions, but there are things I would rather just tell you than answer them off a page and making them impersonal."

Gwen thought about what Parker said, and it did make sense. "That would be great."

"Okay. Let's start with the basics. I'm Sergeant Gregory Parker. I'm 41 years old. I'm bald. I work for the strategic response unit. I am the team sergeant for team 1. There are 5 other team members on my team, and they are my second family. You are my family now. I care deeply about those around me and I like to protect them the best I can."

Parker took a moment for all that information to sink in. When Gwen didn't ask any questions, Parker decided to continue.

"I volunteer my time at an organization that helps youth at risk. I speak there once a month, or more if I can, and try to make a difference. I often speak of the effort I have put into my recovery."

Parker stared at Gwen. He knew that this revelation would spark other questions, but he felt that it would be for the best.

"What recovery?"

It was easier when Gwen knew that Parker was a recovering alcoholic. It was easier still, in their relationship, when Gwen knew about the whole Parker and no alcohol deal and pursued him despite of it. Parker was slightly worried about this part, but he was glad that he could explain it without having it creep up in her questions.

"I'm a recovering alcoholic."

And just like that, all the ease in the air was sucked out and replaced with a large amount of tension.

"Oh."

Parker simply waited for Gwen to say more than the 'oh'.

"Um, how long have you been sober?"

"Ten years."

Gwen took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. "Oh. That's…good? Ten years is a long time."

Parker gave Gwen an encouraging half smile. "Yeah, it's good."

"Why…um…why did you start drinking? Can I ask you that?"

"It started from…from all the things I saw working the job and from all the stress it entailed."

"With the strategic response unit?"

"No. I was a detective before SRU."

"Oh. A detective. I see."

Parker didn't think Gwen was seeing much of anything at the moment but decided that now wasn't the time to point out the obvious.

"Parker, did I know you were a recovering alcoholic?"

Parker had already anticipated this question. It was the first one that he thought Gwen might ask. "Yes. You learned about my recovery at a BBQ Ed threw to introduce you to the SRU team and their families. Ed handed you a beer, and since you don't like beer, you tried to pass it to me when he left. I told you then that I was a recovering alcoholic of 10 years."

"Oh."

Again, Parker waited for Gwen's brain to wrap around the information he was dealing her.

"Does it bother you when other people drink around you?"

"No, although bothered is a difficult word to use to describe my feelings. I'm not embarrassed when others drink and I cannot. I'm not angry. I don't feel deprived or left out. I simply try to focus on other things rather than the drink. Good conversation helps."

"Oh. I think I get it. Maybe. Do I drink around you?"

"Sweetheart, I am well into my recovery, so yes, you've had a glass or two of wine around me. I've never asked you to avoid drinking around me."

"Oh. That's good to know. Although…alcohol has never been a regular part of my life. I mean, I'm on call a lot, so 'no alcohol' has kind of been who I am for large time periods in my life."

'I know. For you it is a choice. For me it is a necessity."

"Parker, is our relationship stressful? Does your alcoholism play a regular part?"

Parker felt slightly irked at the word 'alcoholism', since he had stressed the word recovery so many times throughout the conversation. Still, Parker knew enough to not pick a fight over words. Focusing on the words helped Parker to understand where Gwen's thoughts were.

"I've worked through my issues, sweetheart, and while I can't say that I'll never relapse, because there is always a small chance that I will, I work very hard to remain sober. When I notice a trigger, or I am stressed out, I attend meetings or I talk to someone. There's a group I go to about once every month to talk. It's for police officers, firemen paramedics…basically anyone on the force."

"Oh. That's good. Um, Parker, do you ever talk to me?"

Now there was a question that Parker hadn't seen coming. That Gwen would ask if they looked out for each other was deeply touching.

"Yeah, I talk to you. I tried at first to keep work and you separate, but we both realized that our jobs are stressful enough without having to hide that stress from each other."

"So we discuss our days with each other?"

"Yes and No. Sometimes you've come home from losing a patient and all you want to do is have me hold you, and I've always been okay with that even though I think it's good to talk things out. Sometimes you want to talk about your day. Sometimes I want to talk about mine. We've agreed that we won't ask questions until one of us volunteers the information."

"So we talk to each other. We are good at communicating?"

Parker nodded his head. "Yes, we talk. You always tease me about how I love to talk things out more than you."

Gwen nodded her head. It was brief moment of silence before she continued.

"Does Ed know about you and your alcohol problem?"

Again, Parker held back the retort to the 'alcohol problem' that threatened to come out. "The whole team knows that I am a recovering alcoholic and they all support me in it."

"Do you think we can eat dinner now? I'm hungry."

"Sure we can eat. I'm hungry too."

Parker watched as Gwen put food onto the plates. He wasn't 100% sure what was going through Gwen's mind, but he knew this would not be the only conversation he was going to have about his recovery.


	7. Chapter 7

**Rgs38: **Thanks for the review. I want Gwen to struggle with accepting that her husband has (or maybe it's 'had') a problem with alcohol, and I worked hard to make that come across (hopefully it did!). Thanks for your suggestion.

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Gwen had a lot to think about, and she didn't particularly like where her thoughts were taking her. Ever since the night before, when Parker had told her of his problem with alcohol, Gwen's mind had been in overdrive. She kept imagining all sorts of horrible situations involving Parker and alcohol and was now wondering what she had got herself into.

Would she really marry a man who had an addiction like that? Did she even want to stay married to a man who was a recovering alcoholic? These two questions were the ones that took up the biggest amount of reflection. In the end, there was no clear answer.

Gwen was beginning to worry. She worried about her marriage to Parker. He was an alcoholic. Well…sort of. Parker was a recovering alcoholic, but an alcoholic nonetheless, and this fact worried her. Could one fully recover from alcoholism, or did it always rule your life? Gwen hated not knowing the answer. She never had a problem with alcohol and was worried that she didn't know how to best approach Parker and the issue of alcohol.

Maybe alcoholics always remained in a stage of recovering; maybe they didn't. This thought did nothing but make Gwen worry even more. She hoped that Parker was cured of his alcoholism, if the word 'cure' was right. She didn't think one could be 'cured' of alcoholism, but a better word for it eluded her.

Gwen picked up her phone and dialed Emmett's phone number. She hoped that he hadn't changed it in the last ten months. When it rang and his voice answered it, Gwen was extremely relieved. While many things had changed over the last ten months, a few had stayed the same.

"What's up sis?"

"Emmett, did you know that Parker's a recovering alcoholic?" Gwen blurted out. Looking back, it was probably not the best way to approach the conversation.

"No, 'hi, how are you?', just straight into the hard questions."

"Emmett!"

"Relax. I heard you. Yes, I did know. You told me. It was one of the things I was worried most about when you told me that you were dating a police officer."

"Oh. And you're okay with him being a recovering alcoholic?"

"I'm not the one married to him," Emmett answered dryly.

"Right. Good point."

"Parker doesn't drink sis, so you don't have to worry. He's got his problem under control, so relax. Sis, c'mon, it's only been a few days. Chill with the hard questions and just get to know your husband…again."

"I'm trying," Gwen said, answering quickly.

While Emmett knew that Gwen would be trying her hardest to learn about Parker, he thought she might be taking the easy way out and avoiding him. "You're trying? Really?"

Gwen frowned. She was trying, wasn't she? "Can't I just ask you a few questions? Is that so bad? I just…I just want some answers before I talk to Parker."

Gwen heard Emmett sigh and knew she had him.

"You know I'll answer what I can, but I think that you and Parker should be talking to one another."

"I will talk to him. I mean, I have been talking to him. I just want to talk to my brother too."

"Fine. Spill. What's the worst that could happen?"

Gwen always hated it when Emmett asked that question. It seemed like tempting fate or whatever it was that could put a wrench in your life.

"Do you like Parker?"

Emmett thought the first question relatively easy. "Sure I like him. What's not to like? He's a good brother-in-law. He's a good husband to you. He makes you happy, so that's all I can ask for."

Gwen was a tiny bit relieved to hear that Parker was a good husband to her. "Do you two get along well? Does he like you?"

"Yeah. At first Parker seemed a little intimidating, like he was looking at our relationship and judging it –"

"Was he?"

"No, of course not. Stop interrupting if you want the whole back story."

"Sorry. Go on."

"Gwenny, some people don't get us. We're close, sure, but so are a lot of other siblings. I know that what we have is special. We tell each other more than we probably should, but we have each others backs. Family is family, you know. With Parker it's just that cop stare that he does that is so…intense. Makes me feel like I'm 9 again and have hidden all your Barbie dolls and made you cry."

Gwen knew immediately what Emmett was saying. She had seen the intense stare quiet a bit and felt a little uncomfortable when it was directed in her direction.

"Parker does have an intense stare," she admitted.

"Yeah. And he's a real thinker too. That mind of his is always churning. He sees everything and knows just what to say to get you to spill the beans. I guess that's what makes him so good at his job."

"His job, right. He's a negotiator for the strategic response unit."

"Yup. How are you holding up Gwenny?"

Gwen sighed. "I've been trying to come up with some sort of timeline for the past ten months, but things are so muddled and it's hard to get everything together without knowing for sure when something – "

"Stop talking, sis. You're such a nerd. A timeline for your life…really? That's totally dumb."

"It is not dumb. It is how I am dealing with things. What would you have me do?"

"I don't know…maybe talk to your husband? Relearn about your life with some life experience and not with photos and papers, and files and whatnot."

Gwen opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came to mind.

Emmett knew he had Gwen.

"You still there little sister? Or did you hang up because you're too much of a scaredy-cat to say I'm right?"

"Bite me."

Emmett laughed at Gwen's frustration. "That's Parker's job."

"Gross Emmett. Just thinking about sex with him is like thinking…"

"He's your husband. You've been married for months now. I'm sure you guys did the bump and grind more than -"

"Do not finish that sentence. Do not."

Emmett heard the embarrassment in Gwen's voice, and decided not to pursue any more teasing. "Sis, c'mon. Parker's not so bad. I mean, sure he's intense, but he's a good guy. Heck, he even plays ball with us."

"Ball? Us? Who us?"

"Yeah, that's how we got to know each other - basketball. Good ole basketball. Shane and I against Ed and Parker. The young and gorgeous against the old and…never mind. We totally won, well, win; we win every time Shane and I play them. Ed's kind of super competitive and doesn't like to loose. He's a lot like Shane like that. It makes it that much more fun when we wipe the floor with his ass!"

"You play basketball against my husband, and you call that getting to know someone?"

"What? That's how guys talk. We don't sit around doing our nails and discuss whose wearing what with which outfit. Guys talk when we play sports."

"Fine, you talk when you play. What did you find out?"

"A lot of things. Some cannot be mentioned to the fairer sex."

"Emmett, I starting to loose patience."

"No, you're starting to get annoyed. There's a huge difference."

"Keep going you oaf!"

"Parker rarely gets mad. I mean, you can taunt him, and try to rub him the wrong way, but he's too smart for that and never folds."

"Emmett, you tried to make my husband mad? On purpose?"

"Oh sure, now he's your husband! You get all shy talking about sex with him, but you'll still defend him?"

"Don't be an ass."

Emmett just laughed. "It wasn't me that tried to make him mad. You know I wouldn't do that. Especially with someone who can shoot me a million miles away and make it look like an accident. He's not tapping this conversation, is he? Oh god, they might never find my body!"

"Funny. So it was Shane then."

'Yup. Big brother didn't like that Parker was so…um…I think the word is…"

"Old?"

"Yeah. I mean, he's not really that much older than you. But, Parker is older than Shane, and that meant, in Shane's world of lollipops and candy canes, that Parker was too old to be married to his little baby sister. Plus, Shane being Shane and having one bad experience…well he thought that Parker being a cop he might be a…"

"Cop that shoots first and asks questions later," Gwen finished for him. Shane and Greg Grayson were best friends, and when Grayson was a bystander that was caught in a police shootout, Shane immediately thought all cops were bad. Greg Grayson did not have to die. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and someone needed to be blamed for his pointless death; Shane blamed the police. It was just how he dealt with his friend's death.

"Yeah. But Parker's not like that. I mean, Parker's harmless. Well as harmless as any SRU cop can be. Maybe harmless is the wrong word, but it kind of fits. The guy wouldn't hurt a fly if he thought he could talk the fly out of not buzzing around and moving on and not annoying someone. I think I used a few double negatives there. Hmm. Maybe it's a bad metaphor. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"I speak 'Emmett's convoluted way of thought', so yeah, sort of."

"Convoluted? Harsh, yet unnervingly accurate."

"Emmett, do you think Parker could pull the trigger."

"I'm sure he has, Gwen. He's a police officer, and has been one for a very long time. He's also a negotiator. I'm sure he's seen bad situations. If things go bad, then yeah, he's probably had to pull the trigger. Better to save the innocents than the crazies, right?"

Gwen thought about it, and although she didn't like the term 'crazy', she didn't want to call them 'bad guys' either. Sometimes people are just pushed too far. "Yeah, innocents come first."

"That's my girl. Now why don't you go and have a nice conversation with Parker and leave me to get ready for my date."

"Oh, right. Rachael."

"She's been asking about you. She wants to know when the two of you can get together and go shopping, do your nails, whatever. She wants to do all that girly stuff with you."

"Girly stuff? You love to shop almost as much as I do!"

"Shh…not so loud. Rachael might hear you and then it's all over for me. I'll have to hold her purse while she tries on stuff. You've seen her purse. It's like an overnight bag! The thing probably weighs 10 pounds!"

"You're a goof, you know that."

"Takes one to know one!"

"Oh that's mature. Don't be so childish."

"I know you are, but what am I?" and with that Emmett hung up the phone.

Gwen just knew that Emmett was laughing at her, wherever he was.


	8. Chapter 8

**Rgs38: **I really tried for a chapter with a little bit of humour. Emmett is actually modeled after a friend of mine, so I had a lot to draw from. Thanks for your review. They are always appreciated.

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><p>Authors Note: Yes, I know in this chapter Ed walks through the SRU carrying a large firearm. I am perfectly aware that officers would not casually walk around carrying a loaded sniper weapon through the SRU, and that they would only use it for target practice (or the real things), but it is needed here.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

One week later, Gwen found herself sitting in her car outside SRU headquarters. She had parked in the visitor's parking spot. Why anyone would want to visit SRU headquarters was beyond her. It was a police station, yes, but so much more than your average police station. Gwen wasn't sure what she was going to encounter when she finally entered it. Coming in to the lot she had to come through a security booth.

Gwen wasn't sure how she got to SRU headquarters. Oh, Gwen remembered driving there, but it was almost like an eerie sense of déjà vu. Streets seemed familiar, but as she started going down them, she realized that she recognized nothing. It was frustrating her.

Gwen sat in her car for a few moments before having the courage to walk into the building. Along her way, Gwen kept looking at all the police officers, trying to see if one of them was Parker. None were. Gwen hadn't realized that there were so many police officers at SRU.

When she got to the front desk, there was a female constable sitting there.

"Hi, um, I'm here to see my husband. Sgt. Greg Parker."

The entire SRU had heard of Gwen's fall and subsequent amnesia. It had spread though the building like wildfire. Many officers had inquired about her health to Parker, while many others simply avoided any kind of conversation.

Winnie was the first kind. She like Sergeant Parker and took an interest in all the Team members who she worked with.

Winnie looked at Gwen and held out her hand. "I'm Winnie. We've met before," Winnie said as Gwen reached out to automatically shake her extended hand. "It's been a slow couple of days, so the boss is in the briefing room writing reports. You can head down if you want. Straight through and to your right. It's through the big sliding doors. You can't miss it."

Parker had already spoken with Winnie, and told her that Gwen might show up at the station.

Gwen was shocked. She figured she must have been at the station before for the constable to just let her walk through it. Gwen was glad that she was able to just walk on down. This way she could take her time.

Gwen slowly walked through the station. There were a lot of police officers, and police officers made her nervous. Well, the police officers didn't make her nervous; it was the firearms that they carried that made her nervous.

Gwen spotted Parker straight away. He was hunched over some papers, busy filling them out. Coming unannounced gave her the advantage of simply looking at Parker. It gave Gwen the chance to simply look at her husband. He looked different in a uniform. More serious. Younger, even. Stockier too. Perhaps a little more handsome.

"Spying on your husband? Is that even legal?"

Gwen spun around only to come face to face with a young, brown haired constable. He was grinning from ear to ear, but once again, Gwen just couldn't remember face, let alone a name. He seemed to know her though.

"Don't remember me, huh? That's okay. After the boss and Ed, you like me the most. I'm Spike. "

"Spike?"

"Yup. So you thought you'd stop in to see the boss? That's cute…bring any delicious cookies with you?"

Gwen couldn't help but smile as she tried her best to keep up with Spike's fast paced conversation. "Do I usually stop by and bring cookies?"

Spike shrugged. "The last four times you brought those cookies with the Hershey kiss inside of them. I thought maybe you might have brought us some more. And by 'us', I really mean me. They're my favourite."

Gwen chuckled at Spike's enthusiasm. Either he was friendly or he didn't care that Gwen couldn't remember him. Gwen thought that it might be a little of both.

"And just what are my favourite sister and this tech geek talking about?" Ed asked as he approached.

"Cookies," Spike answered.

Gwen took two rather large and obvious steps backward. Ed was carrying a large firearm in his hand. Actually he wasn't carrying it so much as he was placing it in a huge canister that was lying on a table. It was pointed down, and was being tucked back into place, but it still looked fierce and Gwen was suddenly nervous to be standing near him.

"Gwen? You okay?"

Gwen looked up from the firearm and at Ed's face. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just, um…wow that's huge."

Ed realized what was going on. It would seem that Gwen was nervous around firearms. Ed looked just behind Gwen, and jerked his head in acknowledgment as Parker approached them from behind. As usual, Parker saw everything that happened and knew that Gwen was a little scared of Ed right now.

"Sweetheart, why don't you come with me, okay?"

Gwen turned around and saw Parker holding his hand out. She let him guide her to a seat, far away from Ed and Spike. He then grabbed a chair for himself, and placed it so that he could sit close to her.

"You came for a visit?"

"I don't know how I got here."

Parker raised his eyebrows.

"No, I mean…I know how I got here – I came by car, I just…I was driving around and I got on this one street and it looked familiar, and then another looked familiar, and then I was in the parking lot."

"That's good. That's really good, Gwendolyn. Did you remember anything else?"

"It wasn't a memory, Parker. More like I was familiar with a route but at the same time just kind of wondering where the route would take me."

"It's a start."

Gwen smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Gwen paused. "So this is the SRU. Spike says I usually bring cookies with me."

Parker nodded his head enthusiastically. "Spike would say that. He's a big fan of your Hershey Kiss cookies. He tries to stash as many of them as he can in his pants before anyone else notices. He's probably disappointed that you came in here without any."

"Do I come here often?"

Parker shook his head. "No, not really. You aren't comfortable in here."

Gwen's gaze immediately went to Parker's firearm. "I see." Gwen continued. "It's…different, seeing you like this. I know that you're a cop, but seeing you in the uniform is…different," Gwen said as she reached out and traced the "Sgt. G. Parker" on his uniform. When she realized what she was doing, she pulled her hand back, but left it hanging in the air. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

"Should I go?"

Parker shook his head and captured Gwen's hand between both of his. "No. You don't have to go. I was just filling out reports," he said as he tilted his head towards the desk area. There were a lot of papers.

"You're busy."

"Yeah, but it's good to see you, especially here."

Gwen bit her bottom lip. He was doing it again; staring at her with those intense eyes of his.

"You have wings," Gwen blurted out.

Parker was confused. "Wings?"

"On your sleeve."

Parker looked down on his sleeve. "It's my badge denoting my rank as sergeant."

"Oh."

Parker rubbed Gwen's hand. She didn't pull away, and Parker felt like he made some kind of victory.

"I never thought I'd marry a cop."

"I know. You told me that before."

"Cops make me nervous."

"I know."

"Guns make me nervous."

"I know."

"Are you sure you want to be a cop? Have you tried something else?"

Parker grinned. "Gwendolyn, stop. It's okay. I know that my job makes you nervous and that it's not what you thought you would wake up being married too. But there isn't anything else I would rather do."

"Sorry."

"I'm not upset, sweetheart. I'm not even disappointed. It took you a long time to accept my job, and now you don't remember any of it."

"hmm," was all Gwen said.

"Sweetheart, do you know that you pursued me, even knowing I was police officer?"

"I did?"

"Yeah. You kept dropping these not so subtle hints. Ed finally caught on and had a talk with me. Said it was okay if I wanted to take you out for dinner."

"Ed said that?"

Parker smiled. "Actually he said, 'Sophie thinks Gwen's got a crush on you. I think you should ask her out instead of just staring at her, boss'."

Gwen laughed. "And so you asked me out?"

"Yeah. I asked you out in the parking lot. You had just dropped off a package for me, and were leaving. I caught up to you by your car."

Gwen smiled. "And?"

"And I asked you if you would have dinner with me, and you – "

"Said yes?"

"Not right away. You put your purse in your car, straightened up, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. You then said 'what took you so long to ask?' It blew my mind."

"Thanks. Thanks for telling me this."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"Okay then…I found a box of condoms."

Parker wasn't expecting that.

"You bought them for Dean to use when he's with us," he said offhand, and realized his mistake.

"Dean? Who's Dean? Oh God, don't tell me we've had a threesome?"

Parker tightened his hold on Gwen's hand.

"No…it's not like that. Dean is my son. You were concerned about his relationship with a girl, and you wanted to make sure he was safe and didn't make a mistake that he might regret."

"You have a son?"

"Yes."

"Oh. How old is he?"

"17"

"You have a grown son and you didn't tell me! And I bought condoms for him?"

"He doesn't live with us Gwendolyn. Dean only stays and visits when he can."

"Oh. The guest bedroom is his?"

"Yes."

"Do I get along with him?"

"Yes, you get along great with him."

"Does he live with his mom?"

"He lives with his mom in Texas but he comes and visits you and me as often as he can."

"Parker, were you married before?"

Parker sighed. "Yes."

"Oh. Did your marriage fall apart because you drank?"

"Yes."


	9. Chapter 9

**Yes, I know that Alfred in here sounds very stereotypical of what an aging butler would be, but I wanted him to be that way.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Yesterday had not been a good day for Gregory Parker. His wife had not been at their home when he came home after his shift. Half of him predicted that this would be the case, while the other half of him prayed that Gwen would be there when he got home. Not one to panic, Parker phoned Emmett to ask if Gwen was with him. She was not. The only other place Gwen would go to would be her home, the one Alfred lived in. Alfred picked up on the second ring and told Parker that Gwen was 'most certainly there. Would he like to speak to her? She's dancing at the moment'. Parker did not want to interrupt Gwen's dancing. Gwen often danced to relieve stress from work, but now she was dancing to relieve the stress that was present in their marriage. No, Parker would leave her be and let her dance.

Parker busied himself with making dinner. He made an extra plate in the off chance that Gwen would come home for dinner, but deep down he knew she wouldn't. Parker tried reading, then watching television, and finally he decided to hop on his recumbent bike and put in a good workout.

It was 9 o'clock when Alfred phoned back, saying Gwen had fallen asleep on the couch where she had been looking over photos. Alfred asked Parker if he would like to come and get Gwen or if Alfred should let her sleep. Parker desperately wanted to go and get his wife, but knew that it would be best to leave her where she was.

The next morning Parker woke up to an empty home, showered, made himself breakfast and went to work. Work helped him focus on something else other than his marriage, and Parker was grateful for the focus. The day had been a busy day with one hot call, but even busy days come to an end.

Parker's phone went off just as he was heading to his car.

"Parker here," he said as he answered the phone.

"Good evening, Sergeant Parker, and how are you?" a deep voice replied.

Parker smiled at Alfred's impeccable manners. If one could picture an aging British butler, Alfred would almost be a perfect fit. While he did have impeccable manners and his sentence structure was extremely formal, it would be the quirky outfits that he wore that dissolved any image of a British butler. Alfred loved bright colours and tracksuits, and Emmett, Shane and Gwen had been providing him with a wide range of the things for years.

"I'm good Alfred, how are you?"

"Good, good. I've been busy harvesting some indoor tomatoes to make some sauce. Young Gwen helped me all afternoon."

At the sound of his wife's name, Parker's heart lurched. He missed her and he wanted to see her.

"And how is Gwendolyn doing?"

"Better than yesterday, I'd imagine."

"You don't know?"

"At the moment, your darling wife is not here. We had an altercation of words, and she has decided that staying here was just not the best option for her right now. She should be waiting for you at your home."

Parker could imagine the altercation alright. Alfred was a very patient man, and Parker often thought that he would make a great negotiator, if he was 40 years younger.

"Sergeant Parker, it would be best if you were to come by so that we might have a discussion."

Parker raised his eyebrows and took a deep breath in. All he wanted to do was to go home and see his wife.

"I'm on my way Alfred. Be there in 30."

When Parker arrived at Gwen's home, he pulled up by the front door. This home was what Eddie often called a mansion. It was large, spacious, and hardly used. It had too many rooms that were never fully in use, but Gwen loved it. She had bought it for Alfred and her. Alfred finally had a small greenhouse on the property and was able to grow his vegetables year round. Gwen had her dance studio. Parker chuckled to himself. It wasn't really a dance studio so much as it was a basketball court surrounded by mirrors on all sides. Eddie had thought it strange at first, but then Gwen had informed him that her brother's Shane and Emmett had refused to allow her to change the court into a dance studio, but did help her put up all the mirrors she needed. Emmett and Shane spent more time playing here than Gwen did damcing, but she didn't mind. That's what Gwen did – she bought the house for her family and every now and then family showed up, stayed awhile and eventually left. Alfred was the only constant inhabitant of the house.

And he was waiting by the front door when Parker arrived.

"Good evening again, Sergeant Parker."

"Good evening Alfred."

"Would you like a cup of tea? I have a new blend I am trying out – toasted almond green tea."

Parker was a coffee man, black, no sugar. He never could stand green tea. Gwen was a green tea, black tea, white tea lover. She couldn't stand coffee.

"I'm good, Alfred."

"Ah, yes. I might have some strong oolong if you would prefer that."

Strong oolong was tolerable, but Parker just wanted answers. "Alfred, what's going on with Gwendolyn?"

Alfred sighed. "Young Gwen is unsure of her relationship with you."

Parker let his chin drop almost to his chest, before raising it with sorrowful eyes.

"What did she say?"

"She asked a lot of questions about your relationship."

Parker was prepared for that. "Anything you can share?"

"Yes, yes, of course. She asked simple things at first. Was she happy? Was she happy with you? Did she love you? Did you love her?"

Parker agreed with Alfred. Those were simple answers – they were all 'yes' answers.

"Then the questions became serious. Were you controlling? Did you often loose your temper? Do you put work before your marriage? Were you willing to compromise? Do you keep secrets? Have you hit her?"

Parker's heart plummeted with every questioned asked. "I would never hurt Gwendolyn. Never. I-"

"Stop. Young Gwen is simply expressing her fears, and has decided to confide in me because I will always tell her the truth. She is a little frightened of your relationship, Sergeant Parker."

"A little?"

"She seems to be focusing on your…recovery from alcoholism."

"We talked about it yesterday. I told her how my drinking destroyed my relationship with my ex-wife and how she took Dean as far away from me as she could. I told how long it took me to sober up, and how long I went through the program. I told her about - "

"Sergeant Parker, you do not have to tell me such things. Gwen…did relate your story to me as well."

Parker looked Alfred in eyes. "What was the argument about?"

"Ah, yes, well, young Gwen wanted to move back here. Temporarily, of course."

"Of course," Parker said with little enthusiasm.

"Sergeant Parker, you are good for young Gwen, and that is why I told her that her place is with her husband who loves her, and not here with me."

Parker's lips twitched. "And how did she take that news?"

"Not well, as you can imagine. She told me that everyone keeps informing her of how much you love her, except you, and that maybe everyone was wrong."

Parker wasn't sure he had heard right. Gwen was upset because he didn't tell her he loved her?

"Alfred, it's too soon to say that I love-"

"I agree Sergeant. Young Gwen simply doesn't know what she wants right now. She is confused and lonely."

Parker went to object, but Alfred continued.

"She is most definitely lonely, Sergeant Parker. You are working, and yes, you should continue to work, but Gwen is taking a break from her work right now. Her entire focus is on remembering you and she is unable to. She came here looking for pictures and found snapshots of memories she cannot remember. Gwen is confused over her attraction to you – for you are everything she would not have wanted in her life."

"I know that!"

"Gregory please, be patient with me a little longer."

Parker bit back the retort that was on his lips. Alfred rarely broke with his sense of propriety to call him anything but Sergeant Parker, so calling him Gregory gave Parker pause. The only other time Alfred had called Parker by his first name was when he gave Gwen away at their wedding.

"You know that Gwen is afraid of loud noises, and you know why. She is equally afraid of the guns because her…her last husband, Greg, was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was fatally wounded. That will never change. Gwen is worried about your life as a police officer with the SRU. Being worried means she cares. And whether she admits this to herself or not, caring means that there is something between the two of you, and this makes her want to question everything. Add this to her learning of your recovery from alcohol and Gwen thinks she may have bitten off more than she can chew."

Alfred looked at Parker's serious face.

"Come, come, young man, all is not as bad as it seems. We both know that if Gwen had decided she wanted to remain here with me, neither I nor you could have stopped her. The very fact that she is waiting in your home right now means she is willing to try."

"Thank you Alfred."

"Yes, well. She is like a granddaughter to me, and I love her dearly. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have another reason for asking you to come over. It would appear that the lovely Mrs. Lane has sent me a picture of Clark holding the little one, but I cannot open it," Alfred said frowning. "Why must everything be done on computers?"

Parker smiled. "Still have problems with the computer? Didn't Spike fix it?"

"Oh no, Constable Scarlatti has assured me everything is in order. It is merely I that am causing the problems. Could you please help me? I would very much like to see the picture of the children."

"Lead the way Alfred."

"Good, good."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Pulling into the driveway, Parker saw Gwen's car and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He was surprised that Gwen was waiting for him on the couch as he entered.

"Hiparker." Gwen was so anxious that her greeting blurred into one word instead of two.

"Hi, sweetheart."

Parker could see how tense Gwen was. Her fingers were locked into place in her lap, and he was sure that if she squeezed them any tighter, they would soon be white.

"I…um…" Gwen's thoughts trailed off.

"Sweetheart, let me put my firearm away, and then maybe we can talk? Does that sound okay to you?"

"That would be great. Yup. Great."

Parker didn't take too long putting his firearm away. He wanted to get Gwen talking so that they could work through their issues.

Gwen was still sitting on the couch when Parker returned. He sat down just far enough away to give Gwen some space without over crowding her, but close enough that he could touch her if he so chose.

"Parker, I probably should have called you last night, but I fell asleep-"

Parker held up his hand in an effort to stop Gwen from feeling guilty. Making her feel guilty was not Parker's objective. He wanted Gwen thinking clearly and not thinking emotionally. "It's okay. Alfred called. I knew you were safe."

"Um…about yesterday at the station…maybe we could talk some more about…that."

Parker was relieved that Gwen wanted to talk. "Yeah, we can do that."

"I don't want to be married to a drunk."

Parker was getting a better picture of where his wife's head was now. Training and life experience made Parker a patient man, and he knew better than to get angry, jump to conclusions, or to argue until he heard all that needed to be said. Negotiating had taught him to be patient and to connect with the subject. Life experience had taught him that people can change.

"I…I know that you're not a drunk, and I really don't like using that word, but I really don't know what other kind of word to use. I know that you are sober and that you have been for ten years. I did listen when you explained it to me. I just worry."

"What do you worry about?"

"What if you start drinking again? What if something sets you off and…"

"I worry about that too."

"You do?"

"It's on my mind a lot of the time. Gwendolyn, I think you should go to a meeting. It might help with these concerns you are having."

"What meeting?"

"There are meetings for people who are involved with recovering alcoholics. They offer support and a safe place to express your feelings."

"Right, I knew that. Oh course I knew that. I just never thought it would be me attending one of those things. Meetings, I mean."

"No one ever does."

"Okay. A meeting. Maybe a few meetings might be good. That sounds productive. I can do that."

"Good."

Parker could feel the tension in the room lift a little. Gwendolyn wasn't clutching her hands as much, and seemed to be a little more relaxed.

"It frightens me, you know, you being a recovering alcoholic. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with that information. I…I had a talk with Alfred today."

Parker was surprised that Gwen would volunteer that much. He thought she would have kept her conversation with Alfred private.

"Oh?"

"We talked mostly about you. About what you are like. About you being a police officer. Alfred likes you. A lot. He thinks you're good for me. He told me as much."

Parker's smile lasted a few seconds. "I like him to."

"Alfred had a calming effect on me. Not that I'm a raving lunatic, but I did yell a bit at this whole situation."

"It's good to yell sometimes, you can get everything out."

"Yeah, I guess. Do we ever yell at each other?"

Parker nodded his head. "We've had our moments. But we have managed to work through them."

"Like?"

Parker immediately thought of the worst fight the two of them had had. It was strange that it was the strongest memory, but he felt that Gwen needed to know a little bit more about how they managed to work through things.

"Soon after we were married you kept throwing up each morning for about 3 days in a row. I thought you might be pregnant."

"But I can't get pregnant. I mean, I can, but in all likelihood I can't. I did…tell you this right? This isn't new?"

"You did tell me. Sweetheart, about a month into our physical relationship the condom broke. I was concerned about your reaction. You told me then about your condition."

"It's not really a condition. I have 1/8 of one ovary. The chances of me getting pregnant are about 1 in a 6 million. Add that to the fact that I've only had two menstrual periods my entire life and…"

"I know, but I thought, for a second, that you might be pregnant."

Gwen understood then. "You want to have another child?"

"Yes."

"Why? You've got one already."

Parker had forgotten Gwen's views on children. Gwen had already accepted in life that it would be near to impossible to conceive a baby, so while her response might seem cold, it was her way of dealing with things.

"I would have welcomed another child, if you were the mother Gwendolyn."

"Parker, it's not going to happen," Gwen said gently.

"I know, and I accept that. I just didn't realize at the time how much I was hurting you though."

"What happened?"

Parker was hesitant to continue, but he knew he couldn't hold back now.

"I bought a home pregnancy test for you to take."

Gwen's eyes widened. "Oh. I can see why you did that, but that was…cruel."

"It was, but at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. I asked you to take the test. You took the box from me and went into the bathroom. You came out and put the timer on. You told me that you loved me, but that you couldn't look at me. You told me you were going for a walk, but you got in the car and drove to Ed's house."

Parker waited for Gwen to soak things in. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't start this conversation with the intention of making you feel bad, or even angry. I honestly don't know why I picked that memory out of all the others. I'm sorry."

"So I didn't yell at you?"

"No, you yelled. I went to Ed's house when he called me. Sophie yelled at me for being an insensitive ass. You came out and asked about the test. I could see that for a split second you were hoping it was positive, but I had to tell you that the test was negative. You...yelled."

"What did I say?"

Parker could tell that Gwen was curious about how she handled the situation.

"You yelled that there was nothing you wanted more than to gift me with a baby, my baby. You yelled that you wanted to be pregnant and that you loved me. You yelled that I gave you the greatest gift in being a step mom to Dean."

Parker waited for Gwen's brain to catch up. She kept looking at him with sad eyes, and Parker wanted to do anything to get rid of them.

"I'm a step-mom?"

"Yes."

"To Dean?"

"Yes."

"Do I love Dean?"

"Yes, very much."

"Does he…does he love me?"

"Yes, sweetheart, he does."

"Parker, how did we fix things between us that day?"

"We talked, much like we are doing now. You came home with me, and we talked about what we wanted in life and what we wanted our future to hold."

"And what did you want?"

"I wanted you."

"That's a good answer."

"It's the only one."

"How do we fix what's between us now? I don't remember you Parker and it's been almost 2 weeks. I'm not going to regain my memory."

"You don't know that."

Gwen sighed. "Fine. You might as well tell me some more about 'us' Parker."

"Would you like me to tell you about our first date?"

Gwen half smiled at that.

"Okay."

"I was…apprehensive. I knew I was taking a big risk, dating Ed's sister, but I felt that there was something there. Ed asked me where I was taking you."

"Where did you take me?"

"I made reservations at a Mediterranean restaurant Sam mentioned taking one of his lady friends to. Sam said the food was incredible. I dressed at work, much to the amusement of Ed, and called you from the car. I was running a bit late and it was starting to snow. By the time I got to your house, there was a snow storm."

"Oh no."

Parker smiled. "It was not a good start to the date. You said we should cancel the reservations and make something at your home. I was alright with that."

"I made you dinner on our first date?"

"Yes. You made some kind of salmon." As good as Parker was, he couldn't keep the aversion to fish out of his voice.

"Did you like it?"

Parker hesitated, but answered truthfully. "No."

Gwen chuckled. "Okay, so you're not a fish guy."

Parker smiled. "I ate it because I was hungry. But, no, I'm not a fish guy. The fish was my least favourite part of the evening."

Parker knew he had Gwen's interest now.

"Well, what was your favourite?"

"Meeting Alfred."

Gwen was shocked. "Meeting Alfred was the best part of the evening?"

"Not 'best', favourite. You had mentioned Alfred to me before, but for some reason I thought he was going to be a…younger man, and one not dressed in a bright yellow tracksuit."

Gwen chuckled. "Most people are surprised when they meet Alfred. But he's amazing, so everyone usually just falls in love with him."

Parker nodded at Gwen's accurate description. "Alfred was just as surprised to meet me, but he was the impeccable gentleman he always is, and welcomed me."

Gwen chuckled. "So what was the 'best' part of the evening?"

Parker scoffed. "The best part was seeing you dance."

"I danced for you?"

"Yeah. You were amazing. So…untouchable."

"Do…do we dance…together?"

Parker nodded. "Sometimes. I'm not a good dancer. You tend to lead."

"I'm good at that. Leading."

Parker's lips twitched.

"Yeah, you're good at leading," Parker said, giving Gwen a goofy smile.

"Parker, you're kind of nerdy, you know that?"

* * *

><p>BTW: yes, I do know of someone who has 18 of an ovary, and yes the doctor told her she would NEVER get pregnant...but she did, and the baby was fine. The chances of that happening again are very low.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ed Lane loved when he had great ideas, and this idea had been a good one. Ed was getting his whole SRU family together for a BBQ and it had been his great idea.

Technically it had been Sophie who had had the great idea, but when Ed told Parker about BBQ four days past, Parker didn't need to know that it was Sophie's idea.

Now all of team 1, plus significant other's and kids, were heading back to Ed's home to eat BBQ food and to just relax in his backyard.

The weather was cooperating; the sun was shinning and would stay that way until dusk, the flowers were in full bloom, and the grass was dry for the kids to run around on.

Ed made his way to through the SRU to find Parker. He found Parker in the briefing room, and sure enough, Parker was busy at work filling out forms. Just looking at the amount of extra work Parker was required to do, Ed was happy exactly where he was in his career. Ed would never want to do what Parker did. Ed liked tactics, Parker liked talking. They made a good team and complemented each other nicely.

"Hey boss, you ready for dinner tonight?"

Parker looked up from his work and nodded his head vigorously. "With Sophie cooking? I've been starving myself all day!" For emphasis, Parker slapped his stomach.

Ed snorted. "What, Gwen not feeding you?"

Parker gave Ed a small frown. "She's feeding me alright."

"Oh?"

"We're back to the healthy stuff…again. Healthy stuff means no red meat."

Ed laughed. He had heard about the healthy stuff Gwen had put into her food, and was really glad that Sophie was not like that. Really Glad.

"How bad is it?"

"I keep finding all this food in our fridge and cupboards that are organic, healthy…and now there is even more stuff I've never heard of."

"So she's back at making you healthy? I thought she might have given that up."

"I had hoped. Ed, she's worried about what I eat. My wife is worried about me," Parker said with a smile.

Ed caught the smile and thought about it for a half second. If that was the way Parker wanted to take it, Ed was not going to stop him. "That's something."

"It is, isn't it? She's starting to act like herself a little bit more each day."

"But no red meat in the house yet?"

"Nope. What is wrong with red meat?"

"Nothing. Sophie's marinated the steaks since this morning. And there's chicken for the ladies who can't handle the steak."

"Your wife is something else Ed. Steak and chicken. We better not have a weigh in tomorrow. I want to eat some meat and lots of it."

Ed chuckled at Parker's enthusiasm.

"So things are going well between the two of you?"

Parker hesitated. "They're going. Last night Gwendolyn didn't lock the door to our bedroom. That's something. I think she's starting to feel…safe around me."

"What, you wait outside the door and listen for the click?"

"It's not like that. I just listen for…" Parker trailed off and sighed.

"For what?"

"Sometimes, I think she'll call me."

Ed understood. The relationship between his sister and his boss was tentative. Each didn't want to say the wrong thing. And it seemed that each didn't want to make the first move either. Parker wanted Gwen's memories to come back, and Gwen wanted to remember the past 10 months.

"So she's okay with you two sleeping in separate rooms?"

"Yeah," Parker said with no emotion.

Ed chuckled. "Well, maybe you should move back into your room."

Parker just looked at Ed.

"I'm just saying, boss. It might be time now that she feels safe."

Parker shook his head. "She's not ready."

"Did you ask her?"

"Ed…"

"She has to be thinking about it. Have you connected yet?"

"You want to talk about my sex life with your sister?"

Ed snorted. "It's like talking to Spike. Get your head out of the gutter, Greg. Have you connected on an emotional level yet or not? Simple as that."

Parker's smile vanished. "Not. Ed, I still talk to her like she's my wife and best friend, and she listens and we connect that way but…we talk like we are friends, not husband and wife."

"So? You're still talking. Talking is good. Have you taken her out yet?"

"A date? C'mon Ed. She's just begun to leave our bedroom door unlocked at night. I try and take her out on a date…if I push her too far that door will be locked again."

"Dates are good, Greg. Sophie and I make it a priority now, to go out on dates."

Parker thought about it. He knew Ed and Sophie had problems but they had fixed them. Maybe a date with his wife was a good idea.

"You really think a date would be good?"

"I'm sure she's thought about. She's a woman after all. Sophie always mentions little things about what she wants date night to be like."

"Gwendolyn hasn't mentioned anything. Trust me, I would remember that."

Ed smiled. "Yeah. Greg, maybe she's waiting for you to make a move?"

"Make a move?" Parker snorted. "That wouldn't be a good idea."

Ed knew he had pushed his boss as far as he was willing to go. "Okay, boss. It's your call."

"Hey Boss!" Spike yelled.

Parker looked up and saw Sam and Spike sauntering up. Every now and then, Parker had to remind Spike to tuck in his shirt and make himself the respectable police officer that he was. It looked like today was going to be one of those days.

"Do you think you can swing it so that we can leave early? Okay, maybe not early, but maybe we can all leave on time tonight? I'm sure Sophie and Gwen wouldn't mind help in the kitchen." Spike eagerly rubbed his hands together.

Ed laughed. "Spike, your idea of helping is sampling all the food."

"So? I tell them that the food is good and they are happy with my enthusiasm. That's helping."

Both Parker and Ed chuckled.

"Work first, eat later," was all Parker said.

"Fine, but I call Gwen's cookies."

"Pretty sure you can't call the cookies, Spike," Sam said.

"Sure I can, Samtastic! Right boss?"

"Spike, you can't call the cookies," Parker said with what he hoped was a straight face.

"Fine." Spike was momentarily disappointed. He took out his phone and was busy typing away.

"Hey boss, we got the new ammunition load in yet," Sam mentioned to Ed.

"It's being processed. Should be ready to test by Monday."

Sam was disappointed. "We've got to wait till Monday to test it? What a way to finish a shift."

"But finishing the shift means we are one step closer to food," Spike said. Spike's phone vibrated. He read the message. "Ha! Take that!"

"Spike? You got a girl we don't know about?" Ed said.

Spike smiled. "You know I would never do that to babycakes!"

"Right, cause there's a healthy, adult relationship!" Sam said.

"Are we going to compare adult relationships, Sam?" Spike asked.

"At least I've had relationships that have lasted more than one date," Sam retorted.

"Guys, seriously. Take it to the ladies room if you're going to argue," Ed said.

Parker was watching, with amusement, as his two young, male team members argued like brothers. Parker was going to say something when his phone went off. He read the text and was torn between two options; Parker wondered how one could be both frustrated and amused at the same time, and yet Spike had managed both.

"Spike?"

"Yeah boss?"

"Gwendolyn just texted me."

Spike looked a little sheepish. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"Right, I didn't think she would do that."

"That?"

Spike remained silent for a few seconds.

The silence was starting to bug Sam. "What 'that'?" Sam asked.

"My wife wants to know how many cookies she should put aside solely for Spike."

Sam laughed. "You texted the boss' wife for cookies? Smooth one, Spike."

"What? Those cookies are the best! And I've seen the way you shove them in your mouth Samtastic!"

Ed couldn't help but smile. "So what's the answer Spike? How many cookies are enough?"

Spike looked at Parker with big, round, innocent eyes. "Oh…um…all of them?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Greg Parker was enjoying himself at Ed and Sophie's BBQ. Parker was a little tense at the beginning as he thought he might have to force himself to enjoy the evening, but found that he didn't have to.

Parker had dropped Gwen off earlier that day, and she had spent the day with Sophie. He assumed the ladies needed the time to prepare the food, but it was more likely that the two ladies had enjoyed girl time. Parker was extremely grateful that Sophie had taken time to get to know her sister-in-law again. He knew it would be hard on both of them, but with Sophie's easy going nature, and Gwen's go with the flow attitude, Parker was sure the two had had a pleasant day.

Looking around at the table piled high with food, Parker was excited. Sophie had outdone herself again, and the food was amazing. There were so many items to choose from, that Parker knew he would feel stuffed later that evening. He knew Ed was saving him the biggest steak. If only Parker's wife would let him cook red meat more often.

Parker watched as his wife was making friends again with her nephew. Clark was busy showing Gwen his cello and explaining everything about his music, his band, and his passion again. Gwen didn't have to feign interest, as Gwen loved most kinds of music – preferably music that she could dance too.

It had started innocent enough. Ed had put on some music and grabbed Sophie so that he could dance with her. Parker sighed as he looked over at his wife who was across the backyard sitting comfortably next to Clark. Clark stared in horror as his mom and dad were dancing. Even though Parker wasn't the best dancer, he would have danced with Gwen if she let him. As Parker watched Gwen's face, he saw her smile. Parker could not help but smile himself. He watched as the smile on Gwen's face suddenly fell and she got up and went into the house. The sudden change in disposition had Parker concerned.

Not wanting to make a scene, Parker discreetly got up and walked into the house. He heard the front door close and Parker was slightly alarmed that Gwen was leaving. He quickened his pace to the front door, but caught sight of Gwen through the front window; she was sitting on a wicker sofa on the veranda. Parker watched Gwen for awhile. While she made no move to get up, she also made no move to come back to the party. That meant that Gwen was thinking.

Parker approached Gwen silently. Her eyes were closed, and her face remained slightly upward, almost like she was bathing in the sunlight. He wasn't sure what caused Gwen to leave, and he didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

There was enough room on the sofa for Parker to sit down; he just didn't want to do it suddenly.

"Sweetheart?"

Gwen opened her eyes and he noticed that they were misty. She gave him a small smile that lasted for a brief second.

Parker sat down. He wanted desperately to reach over and hold Gwen in his arms, but he knew that the action would not be welcome. Instead he tentatively laid his hand on Gwen's leg. When she didn't flinch away, Parker let a breath out.

"Do you want to tell me about what made you leave?" Parker asked gently.

Gwen looked Parker in the eyes. "Do we have wedding rings?"

The question, as many of Gwen's questions had been lately, took Parker by surprise. He was not expecting that. Parker gave Gwen an encouraging smile. "Yes, we do."

"Good. Rings are important. They're important, you know?"

Parker nodded.

"Why aren't you wearing yours?" Gwen asked Parker.

Parker raised his eyebrows. It was a valid question. With his free hand, Parker pulled a chain out, hidden under his shirt. On the chain rested his wedding ring. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable by wearing it."

Gwen only nodded her head. "When you woke up this morning, did you want to put your ring on?"

Parker wouldn't lie to Gwen. "Yes."

Gwen's response was fast. "Then you should wear it." The statement seemed to surprise Gwen herself, but she didn't take it back or make a move to amend it.

Parker wasn't sure how to take that statement. Did this mean that Gwen was acknowledging their marriage, or was she worried that he didn't want to be with her anymore and by wearing the ring it would reinforce the idea that he did want to be with her? Instead of asking the questions that he desperately wanted to ask, Parker undid the chain and went to slide his ring on, but Gwen stopped him.

"Wait. Let me see it."

Parker handed over the ring. It was a plain ring, but that was what Parker wanted.

Gwen looked at the inscription. **A solis ortu usque ad occasum. Love, Gwendolyn**

"Latin. From sunrise to sunset. Love, Gwendolyn," Gwen whispered.

Parker smiled. She had inadvertently given the meaning away. "Gwendolyn, honey, you shouldn't have said that."

Gwen was momentarily surprised that Parker had used 'honey' instead of 'sweetheart'. "Why?"

"We made a pact to tell each other the meaning of the engraving on our first wedding anniversary."

"Oh. I don't remember. I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I've wanted to know what the translation was the moment I read those words. It's been a testament to my willpower to not have Spike translate them for me."

Gwen laughed and Parker was pleased at the sound. Gwen handed him his ring, and Parker slid it on his finger.

"Parker, you don't wear your ring to work do you?"

"No. I can't. It's regulation. It might get in the way and I could loose my finger should it get caught on a fence or something sharp."

"I figured as much. I mean I know…I've seen…I've had to attach a finger in emergency for a police officer. It's not a pretty sight."

Parker winced at the thought of losing his finger.

There was a long pause. "Parker, did I ever tell you about this ring?" Gwen held up her hand.

Parker didn't have to look at her left hand to know what ring was on her middle finger. It was a beautiful ring, white gold band with 10 small diamonds in it. Parker knew the story behind it.

"It was Greg's ring," he said softly.

Gwen's eyes instantly blurred as a few tears fell. "I wasn't sure I told you about it, and when Ed and Sophie were dancing, the sun caught Sophie's rings and I immediately thought about how when I woke up this morning I just put Greg's ring on my finger. It's something I've been doing since he died…since he was shot. I didn't even think about how we might have wedding rings. I just put Greg's wedding ring on…I…I still love him, Parker. And, then there is you," Gwen choked out.

Parker understood the guilt straight away. "Gwendolyn, look at me."

Gwen did.

"It's okay. I know you still love Greg. You're always going to love him. I would never be upset that you wear that ring. I never have been."

Gwen noticed two things. The first was Greg Parker was a man who meant what he said. The second was Greg Parker was a man who understood. "So I still wear this ring?"

"Yes. You usually wear it on your right hand though."

"Oh. Well that would make sense."

"**In aeternum,"** Parker said.

Gwen sucked in her breath when she heard Parker speak the words that were engraved on Greg Grayson's wedding band all those years ago.

"Forever," Gwen said. "I thought our love would last forever, so I engraved 'forever' on Greg's ring."

"It will last forever, sweetheart. Your love for him will never go away."

"Everyone says that I love you."

Parker nodded. "You do."

"And you're okay with me wearing Greg's ring?"

Parker sighed. He thought Gwen might be looking for a fight and he didn't want to encourage it. "Gwendolyn, you told me once that although a part of your heart would always love Greg, a large part of your heart loves me. I would never ask you to give up your love for Greg. Sweetheart, the love you have for me is more than enough."

Gwen let a tear fall.

"**Hoc erat in votis.** It's what's I engraved on your wedding band," Parker said.

Gwen blinked back a few tears as she waited for Parker to translate the words. She thought she knew what the translation would be, but she wanted to make sure.

"It means 'This was my heart's desire'," Parker translated. "Marrying you was my heart's desire…and it still is."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"What if…what if I never remember that I love you, Parker? Will you be okay with that?" Gwen sobbed.

Parker couldn't take it anymore. He reached a hand over Gwen's shoulder and pulled her into his lap. _No, _Parker thought_, I won't be okay if you don't remember the love you have for me. I won't be able to live if you don't love me._ But he couldn't say that aloud, so instead he simply held his wife and rocked her gently.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: OMG! Last night's episode was amazing. I wanted to hug both Parker and Ed! **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

SRU had trained Parker to notice all the small details, so when things started to change in the Parker household, Parker saw them all as blazing red flags that kept popping up.

The first small detail Parker noticed was the slight change in Gwen's behaviour over the last few weeks. If he wasn't trained to notice the small details, Parker would have missed it, but there were subtle changes.

Gwen had been making a large effort to find ways to connect more with Parker, and Parker saw this as a good sign. Gwen had started back at work, but had opted to start back on a part time basis. Slowly, Gwen was getting back into the swing of things. This new part time schedule often meant that Parker came home to an empty house. The small detail that Parker noticed was dinner; there would always be a meal for him on the table or in the fridge. When their schedules were reversed and Gwen arrived home while Parker was at work, Parker would make the meal and leave it for Gwen. Either way, there was always a short, hand written note to each other saying where the food was left.

Most of the time Gwen's notes would say, 'I made something healthy, try and eat some of it', or 'you can't even tell there's healthy substitutes in this'. Parker had begun to complain to Gwen about all the healthy food substitutes in his meals, and she had listened. The last meal had been by far Parker's favourite, especially after he saw Gwen's note. This note simply said, 'This meal has nothing "healthy" in it. Enjoy getting fat.' It would seem that Gwen's sense of humor knew no bounds.

The only problem with the notes was how to sign them. Parker felt like he was in grade school again and wasn't sure whether he should write 'love, Parker', or 'from, Parker' on the bottom of his notes to Gwen. In the end, he followed Gwen's lead and omitted 'love' and 'from' and simply wrote "Parker".

Today was another day and Parker smiled when he woke up. There would be no notes left today as both Gwen and he had the day off. No work today meant Parker had Gwen all to himself. Gwen was up before him and was making breakfast as usual.

The house smelled like pancakes, but Parker knew better than to equate a nice smell with nice taste. Most of Gwen's cooking was great, sometimes it was amazing, but there was the odd time that things didn't quite add up.

"Smells good," Parker said as he came into the kitchen.

"You're not a sergeant," Gwen said absentmindedly over her shoulder.

"Excuse me?"

Gwen flipped a pancake.

"You," she turned and pointed at Parker with the utensil in her hand, "you are not a sergeant."

"I'm not a sergeant?"

It was not so much what Parker said, as how he said it. Gwen picked up on the definite offended tone.

Gwen huffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course you are."

Parker was now confused and sighed. "Sweetheart, you want to run that by me again?"

Gwen pointed to the note Parker had left for her yesterday. He picked it up and read it. At the bottom, Parker had signed his name, 'Sergeant Gregory Parker'. "I see."

"You're not a sergeant to me. You're just Parker. Just Parker."

Parker's face was serious, but Gwen didn't see since she had turned her attention back to her pancakes. This was another one of those changes that Parker noticed in Gwen over the weeks. She seemed determined to differentiate between Sergeant Parker and Greg Parker.

"I thought it was cute," Gwen said after a moment of silence.

"Cute?" Now Parker felt like he needed his cup of coffee before the conversation went any farther.

Gwen passed Parker coffee without Parker asking for it.

"No tea?" Parker teased.

"Would you drink it or pour it into the plants like you usually do?"

Parker covered up the smile that threatened his face with a yawn, but Gwen saw through it.

"I thought as much. I made pancakes."

"I love pancakes. There's, um, nothing 'healthy' in them is there?"

"Flax seed."

Parker grimaced. Flax seed, while extremely healthy, was gross.

"They taste like normal pancakes, Parker."

"Is there syrup?"

Gwen smiled. "You're going to eat my pancakes?"

"If you cover them with enough syrup, I'm sure they'll taste just fine."

Gwen snorted.

"Did you have plans today?" Gwen asked.

Parker's head snapped up. He planned to do what ever Gwen wanted. That was his plan. "Nope, nothing planned."

"Oh. I was going to dance…at home."

Parker felt sad inside as he wanted to spend the day with Gwen. "Dance? All day?"

Gwen smiled. "No. But I thought we could play some basketball later on, you know, if you came with me."

Something was up, and Parker could sense it. Gwen didn't play basketball. Sure, she liked watching it, and she was his biggest fan when he played her brothers, but Gwen didn't play it.

"You would like to play basketball? With me?"

"Don't we play basketball together?"

Parker shook his head. "No."

"Oh…sorry."

"What for?"

"It's just…Emmett said that you play basketball."

"I do, sometimes."

"And he said that…well he mentioned that…can we have a family dinner here?"

Parker was still trying to keep up. He wondered what Emmett might have said. "Today?"

"No, not today, but sometime."

"Sure," Parker said softly. "Who would you like to invite?"

"Ed and Roy, Sophie, Cla – my nephew and niece, Emmett, Shane, and Alfred."

"Sounds good."

"Good."

Gwen placed the pancakes in from of Parker.

Parker poured syrup over them and ate a piece. They weren't too bad. These actually tasted like regular pancakes but were healthy for you. All in all, a good combination.

"So you mentioned dancing…can I watch?"

Gwen gave Parker a quick, embarrassed smile and focused her attention back on her food.

"I didn't think you would be interested in watching."

That's when it hit Parker; Gwen thought Parker might be bored watching her dance, so she tried to bribe him with a game of basketball. There were times that Parker was grateful for his training and insight, otherwise he wouldn't have picked up on Gwen's vulnerable feelings. Gwen wanted Parker to watch her dance, but didn't know how to come out and ask him.

"I love watching you dance. Besides, I can use the bike and work out a little."

Gwen nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Parker was glad that he wore his baggy sweat pants. Watching Gwen dance was turning him on. He tried thinking about something else, but it wasn't working.

At first, Gwen started dancing classic ballet, but without the shoes. She moved gracefully to the music. Then the music changed and Gwen's dance changed.

Gwen communicated through her dance, and her dance told Parker that Gwen was purposely being provocative. She was intentionally trying to turn him on, and she was winning.

Parker tried not to rearrange himself while on the bike, but he couldn't help it, he had to.

Gwen appeared to be oblivious to Parker's growing problem. She let the music shape her movements. Sometimes she would close her eyes. Sometimes the hair fell in her face and she was blinded for a second. Sometimes she would travel the length of the court, only to travel back. Sometimes the mirrors became so blurred by Gwen's speed that Gwen didn't see them.

Gwen was free when she danced. Usually she would put all her emotions into the dance and today was no different. Sure, Parker was there to watch her, but he was spinning on the bike and Gwen couldn't even hear him over the music. So, in essence, Gwen was the only person on the court, and she could dance for herself and no one else.

And she did.

Gwen began with the classic ballet moves, which were formal and graceful. Gwen loved moving her body slow and precisely, hitting lines she knew would be gorgeous to an onlooker. Nothing moved out of place. Her body moved as one, from the tips of her fingers to the points of her feet.

When the music changed, Gwen was almost not ready for it. The speed and tempo had picked up and there was a modern beat that she could no longer ignore. This beat allowed her to change her style. Lines became crisper and less formal, but still held on to their fluidity. Gwen's body still connected with her mind. Gwen thought the move and then did it. She wasn't ready yet to allow her mind to recede and natural instinct to take over.

When the music changed again, Gwen was finally ready to let go. She let all of her frustration out. Today, at this moment, Gwen was Gwen; she was not married, she did not have retrograde amnesia and she was happy.

Happiness burst through each move Gwen made. She might have been smiling, Gwen didn't know. It was hard to think about what your face was doing, when your body was taking you someplace and you had to simply hold on.

Gwen felt like all there was in the world was her and the beat she heard in the background. That beat influenced her heart rate; it slowed when the beat dropped, and quickened its pace when the beat increased.

Gwen's vision blurred as the beat increased. She tried to bring herself back to reality, but the beat was all she could hear. It was encouraging her to continue, but Gwen felt her legs give out and she went down.

Parker didn't sense anything wrong until he watched Gwen collapse. He jumped off the bike and ran to Gwen who remained unmoving.

At the very last second, before Parker could reach her, Gwen stirred and tried to push up on her arms, which were shaking.

Parker collapsed onto his knees and yanked Gwen up hard against his body.

"Hey…hey…no, no, no, stay awake. That's good. Look at me. Gwendolyn, look at me. You're okay."

Parker brushed the hair out of Gwen's face.

"Hey," was all she could say.

"You okay?"

"I think I might have overdone it."

Parker simply stared at Gwen. "You 'might' have over done it?"

"It felt good to dance."

"And how did it feel to fall?"

"That part, not so good."

Gwen closed her eyes for a second.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't close your eyes."

Gwen opened them again. "I'm okay."

Parker just stared at Gwen and gave big sigh. "Should we go to the hospital? Have a doctor check you out?"

Gwen simply raised her eyebrows.

"Maybe have another doctor, besides yourself, check you out," Parker said wryly.

"I just pushed too hard. I'm okay. I know my body Parker. Trust me."

Parker gave Gwen one of those cop stares he'd been giving her lately. "I do trust you."

Parker felt the instant that Gwen became uncomfortable and she stiffened. He didn't want to let her go.

"Do you want to stand up?" Parker asked Gwen gently.

Gwen couldn't look Parker in the eyes. She was beginning to…feel something for Parker and she didn't want to think about that.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Parker was organizing and reorganizing his locker at the end of shift. He made sure that his favourite photo of Gwen was tacked neatly in place. Parker smiled when he looked at the photo. Gwen had just come out of the shower and had put on this blue satin housecoat. It didn't look like a house coat, but it was. She had let her hair down and had finished combing it. Parker had tried to take the picture when she wasn't looking, but as he was pressing the button, Gwen turned her head. The effect was stunning. Poised in front of the mirror, with this blue satin housecoat on, wet hair, fresh faced, and pouty lips, Gwen looked breathe taking. It was, by far, Parker's favourite picture. It was tasteful enough that he could put it in his locker at work and not feel like Gwen would be exposed to the SRU males.

Ed made his way into the locker room to find Parker staring at a picture of his sister. Ed saw Parker use his hand to trace Gwen's face.

Trying to give the man some time to bring himself out of fantasy land, Ed turned to his locker and opened it, making sure to make a loud enough noise. Ed then went about unbuttoning his shirt to change into regular clothes. He was sure that he had given Parker plenty of time to come back down to earth.

"So, Gwen made steak last night," Parker commented.

Ed knew that Parker couldn't see his face, so he smiled. Having steak at the Parker household was like opening presents on Christmas. If Parker were a little bit more like Spike, he would be bouncing off the walls.

"Let me go get my recipe book Boss, and we can compare secret ingredients," Ed joked.

Parker let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the bench directly behind his locker.

Ed felt the tension in the air instantly. He spared Parker a quick glance before he walked over to sit down next to him.

"What happened?" Ed asked.

"She collapsed."

"When?"

"Over the weekend. She was dancing and she pushed her body too hard."

Ed wanted to head straight over to Parker's home, find Gwen and throttle her. What was she thinking? "She alright?"

"Yeah. Exausted, but alright. Wouldn't let me take her to the hospital."

Again Ed felt the urge to throttle Gwen. While he hated hospitals, he knew they were important.

Parker continued. "I held her Eddie, and when she realized how close we were, she pulled away. I keep seeing subtle signs that she wants more, but she keeps pulling away. I may be reading too much into these signs."

"You can't keep going on like this, boss. You've got to make a move already."

"I know."

Ed wasn't expecting Parker to agree. In fact, he was expecting Parker to give him a long list of reasons not to make a move on his sister. "Good." Ed waited a few seconds. "Well?"

"What, right now?"

Ed snorted. "Pick up the phone and call her. Tell her you're taking her someplace nice and give her time to get all dressed up. It's called a date."

"I know what it's called!"

Parker felt like hitting something, he was that frustrated. He sighed again, and this time it sounded even heavier than the last time. "Go home, Eddie. I'll be fine."

Ed looked Parker over once more. Part of him wanted to leave and butt out of his sister's life, but another part wanted to stay and fix things between his sister and his best friend.

Ed let out a small sigh of his own and stood up. "Talking to each other doesn't seem to be working boss, so I say go for it and see where the chips land."

Parker glanced at Ed before nodding his head.

Not long after Ed left, Parker got a text message. 'You're stupid and old. If I could kick your ass I would.'

Parker frowned. The text was from Emmett.

Another vibration let Parker know that he had a new text message.

'Meant old fashioned. Need to talk about Gwenny. Meet at the house? Bring shoes. Game after?'

Parker hit the reply button. 'be there in 35'. While tired of being summoned, Parker knew he would go anywhere if it concerned his wife.

Emmett was on the court waiting for Parker.

"Hey, you came," Emmett said, full of energy.

Parker wondered how many coffees the man had consumed that day. "You texted. Here I am."

Emmett nodded. "Play and talk. Around the world? I start."

Parker smirked. "How come you get to start?"

"Because I'm taller. That should be obvious."

"Go on then."

Emmett took the first shot and it went in. He moved to the next spot. "So Gwen's got a crush on you."

Parker's mouth opened slightly before closing shut. He thought for a few seconds before replying. "What makes you say that?"

"I made her lunch yesterday when she came over. Well, maybe I didn't make lunch as much as I ordered sushi, but you get the picture."

"Take the shot. And?"

Emmett took the shot. It went in. "She was looking through your wedding album. She came across the picture of you at the alter…you know, when you saw Gwenny in her dress."

Parker knew exactly which picture Emmett was talking about.

"She got all girly for a moment and cried. Well, got all teary eyed and let a few fall before she acted like she hadn't been crying. Women."

Parker never said anything. He would wait until after Emmett married Rachael before he started to tease the man about tears at weddings.

"So Gwenny told me that she has feelings for you."

Parker retrieved the ball as it hit the court. He didn't say anything as he passed the ball to Emmett.

"You even listening Parker?"

"Yeah, Emmett, I am."

Emmett took the shot and it went in.

"Good. Gwenny says that you haven't done anything romantic yet."

Parker retrieved the basketball and held onto it. "I'm working on it."

Emmett chuckled. "You need some help there, Mr. Old fashioned?"

"No."

Emmett stopped smiling. "Seriously, watching you two is like being back in third grade where you get a note one day saying, 'do you like me'? And there are boxes to check for yes, no, maybe. Look Parker, I hate getting involved in other people's feelings. You know that. But Gwenny is confused as hell. She likes you. She told me, and I quote, 'I think I have a crush on my husband', but she's afraid of getting too close and not feeling anything on your end."

Parker was surprised. He passed Emmett the ball and Emmett took the shot. It went in.

"We could have had this conversation on the phone," Parker said with little emotion.

"Oh please, and miss out on beating you in b-ball!"

Parker smirked. He had lost and he hadn't even taken a shot.

"Look, I got these tickets for 'Wicked', that musical, and Rachel can't make it, and there's no way I'm going to sit through some boring musical, so I thought of Gwenny and you."

The way Emmett's body language was practically screaming at Parker, it was obvious the man was lying. Parker suspected that Emmett bought the tickets just so Parker and Gwen could go on a date.

Parker smiled. He had always liked Emmett because Emmett cared. He cared enough to fix things, and was good at manipulating situations. In essence, Emmett was a negotiator; he just didn't know it.

"Thanks Emmett. That would great."

Emmett smiled. "Good. Game of one-on-one before you go?"

"Yeah. But I get a 20 point lead…for being shorter than you."

"Should I lower the basket for you? Allow you to travel without penalties?"

"Just check me in."

They played for 45 minutes, and at the end of the game, the score was Parker 25, Emmett 36. Parker was pretty sure Emmett had allowed him to get those 5 actual shots in.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Two days later, Gwen had Spike over to fix her computer; if you wanted to look at it more precisely, Gwen had asked Parker if Spike could fix her computer, and Parker had relayed the message to Spike, who in turn jumped at the chance of spending time with his friend. Spike already knew that it was the password prompt that was messing with Gwen's netbook, but Spike also wanted to update whatever needed updating on her main computer.

Gwen liked Spike, and the more time she spent with him, the more she could see similarities between Spike and her brother Emmett.

Spike had been over for about an hour now, downloading, updating and fixing Gwen's computer. It seemed that Gwen had installed a program that was just taking up space and slowing down her main computer. Spike had completely taken over her computer and was busy improving it. As Spike worked his magic on her computer, Gwen went about making Hershey kiss cookies.

Spike came down when he smelled the first batch cooling.

"Oh…cookies."

He went to grab one, but Gwen whacked his hand with a wooden spoon. "No, don't! There too hot."

Spike puffed out his chest as he pretended to look offended. "I can take the heat."

"Spike, the chocolate has to harden inside the cookie. If you bite into it now, the chocolate will drip out. It's just too hot. Leave it for a while and when the chocolate hardens, you can eat as many as you want."

Spike smiled. "Done. Where's the netbook?"

Gwen pointed to the small netbook on the couch. She hadn't been able to use it because she couldn't remember her password.

"I'm not complaining, but the boss could have just brought this to work for me to fix. It wouldn't have taken much." Spike said as he was typing on the keyboard. "I hate these small keyboards. I keep hitting the wrong keys!"

Gwen chuckled at Spike's child-like admission.

At the sound of her laughter, Spike looked at Gwen. He had missed his talks with Gwen.

"You know, I feel like I've been bad somehow. Here I am at the boss' house and he's not here. It's a little…"

"Creepy?"

Spike laughed. "No, not creepy. Odd. Definitely odd."

"Parker went to pick up groceries. He should have been back by now." Gwen paused. "You know Spike, I would have brought the netbook to your home."

Spike snorted. "After that conversation you had with my mom…probably not the best idea."

"What conversation?"

Spike mentally slapped himself for forgetting that Gwen had amnesia. "Well, when my mom found out that I made a new friend and that you were a girl…well my mom saw a big church wedding and more babies in the family."

Gwen laughed. It sounded like Spike's mom had done this a few times to Spike before. "She loves you Spike. She wants to see her baby having babies."

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, she thought the same thing about Jules when she found out there was a woman on the team. I've kept those two as far apart as I can…Jules might shoot ma!""

"So what happened?"

"Well, I had you over one night for dinner, and ma, well, she kept hinting that you might be the 'one' for me. The 'one' to make me all serious, boring, responsible. Blah, blah, blah."

"Oh no, not that!"

"Yup. It got pretty bad, so you told her that you…couldn't have children."

"Ah. Who would have thought an Italian mother would want lots of grandchildren? I guess I was in the clear huh?"

"Yeah. I mean, ma took it hard, she liked you. Didn't matter that I didn't like you," Spike said as he frowned.

Gwen raised her eyebrows, and Spike realized the implication of what he had just said.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just meant that I didn't like you like that."

"Like what?"

"Don't be such a girl, Gwen!"

Gwen smiled. "And that's a bad thing because?"

"Because women are all born with the innate ability to listen to a man's words and twist them, effectively using them against completely innocent men. Right boss?"

Gwen turned around to see Parker holding two heavy laden grocery bags.

"Our home smells like cookies again," Parker said as he sent a questioning look at Spike.

"It's not my fault", Spike blurted out.

"Really?" Parker asked.

"What's wrong with the house smelling like cookies?" Gwen asked.

Parker looked at his wife. "Nothing. Spike's going to have to run more training courses pretty soon. He's been spending too much time in the truck."

"Nah-uh boss. Fast metabolism. Us young men can eat anything we want!"

"Are you calling my husband old?"

Spike looked at Gwen's serious face and blanched.

"No, of course not. He's just…older than me…and I have a fast metabolism….and…" Spike sighed. "Did I just loose any chance I had at eating cookies?" he asked quietly.

Gwen laughed. "Go ahead and eat them, but if they burn your tongue, don't come crying to me."

Gwen looked through the grocery bag that Parker had brought in. Taking things out, Gwen smiled. Parker was buying healthier food. That made her happy.

Parker nodded his head in Spike's direction, and motioned for Spike to follow him outside.

Spike grabbed two cookies and followed Parker. He shoved both into his mouth and began to chew quickly. Gwen was right, the chocolate had melted and was oozing everywhere, but the cookies still tasted so good.

When they were outside, Parker took a deep breath. "Spike, I don't want you to feel like I'm spying on my wife, but can I talk to you about her for a minute?"

"Sure, boss. What's up?"

"How is she doing?"

Spike thought about it. "She's good boss. I mean, it was awkward at first with you not being there. It was like she wasn't sure I should come in with you not being home. And I get that. It must have been weird for her. She was…calm afterward, boss. We started to talk about stupid things, like the best way to prepare a steak, and I had forgotten that Gwen doesn't eat much red meat, but it's not like we ran out of things to talk about. Boss, she had me cracking up like usual, but she…" Spike trailed off.

Parker realized that Spike was caught in an awkward spot. Parker was Spike's boss. Gwen was Parker's wife, but she was also Spike's friend, and Spike didn't want to be caught in the middle. Spike just wanted peace in the Parker household.

Parker nodded his head. "Since you're younger than me, you can help me with the bottles of pop."

Spike smiled. "Sure thing, boss."

Spike walked to Parker's car. "You know, she asked me some strange questions."

Parker waited to see if Spike would finish. He didn't want to force Spike to betray his wife's secrets.

"Gwen asked me if you were great at your job. And if you took unnecessary risks. And if you always wore your vest. That seemed important to her, that you always wore your vest. And if you had taken someone's life," Spike finished quietly.

"I see."

"They were just questions, boss. And I'm sure that I would have them too, if I woke up married to someone that I didn't know. She's not, you know, looking for bad things about you. She's just kind of looking for answers to some unusual questions."

Parker nodded his head. "Thanks, Spike. I'm grateful that Gwendolyn has you as a friend."

"I just like her so darn much because of those cookies. Don't tell her that though…Don't tell my ma that I said that either!" Spike said with a wink.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

When Spike left, after carrying a container of homemade Hershey kiss cookies, Gwen took a long look at the counter, table, and kitchen sink. The place looked a mess. Sighing to herself, Gwen hesitantly approached the kitchen sink and emptied the mixing bowl of the soapy water she had left to soak. Water, soap, cookie mixture and a few spoons went flowed out of the bowl. Gwen went to grab the dishcloth as she heard Parker come up behind her.

Not meaning to, Parker had approached Gwen silently. Years of training had left Parker very light on his feet. He deftly grabbed a cookie and popped it into his mouth. Savouring the taste Parker quickly grabbed another cookie. Spike was right about the cookies. The Hershey Kiss cookies really were the best.

"Great cookies, sweetheart. They're really addictive. They might just be my new favourite."

Gwen gave Parker a lazy smile before answering. "They are addictive. Just make sure you have a glass of liquid ready, because after a few your mouth gets dry from all the sugar added. They're my favourite."

"Spike's too."

Gwen laughed. "Yeah, I kind of figured that one out all by myself. He wouldn't let me pay him for fixing my computer, so I thought he might take cookies in lieu of payment."

Parker nodded his head. "How many did you make for him?"

"I managed to get 50 into the container, and the rest are what you see here, minus what Spike already ate."

"Those 50 cookies won't last too long."

"You never know. They might make it to his home."

Parker grinned. "So you and Spike have a good time?"

"Spike's like a little kid on too much sugar."

Parker laughed. "Yeah, he can get that way. The trick is to have him focus on something."

"Like computers? He fixed my password problem in a few seconds."

"Computers are his toys."

"He's really…um…friendly. And he's calming, as unusual a word to use to describe him."

Parker gave Gwen one of his intense stares. "Spike is protective of you."

"Oh. Why?"

"The two of you often talk computer stuff."

"But I don't know anything about computers."

"Let me backtrack. Spike loves to share his knowledge of computers and he found a great listener in you."

"Oh."

"You've helped Spike heal."

"What do you mean?"

"We lost a friend, a team member. You came along and just listened. That's all he really needed – a new friend. Someone not on the team. Someone who just listened."

"Oh. I don't remember any of that."

"That okay. Spike remembers."

"Spike doesn't treat me like I have amnesia. He just talks like I've known him forever."

Parker raised his eyebrows.

Gwen continued. "He just continues on talking about stuff as if we're the best of friends."

"In a round about way, you are."

Gwen was confused.

Parker sighed. "You and Spike connected because that's what Spike does best. He really connects to people and they are drawn to his personality."

"Oh, so it's a SRU training thing?"

"No, it's a Spike thing. He was really mad at me when we first started getting to know each other."

Gwen smiled at the 'getting to know each other'. "Dating?"

Parker nodded his head. "Yes, dating."

"Why was he mad?"

Parker let out another sigh. "I guess we are going to have this conversation twice, lucky me."

Gwen was instantly annoyed at Parker. She thought Parker's remark callous and uncalled for. "Thanks. That makes me feel great. Why would you even say that?"

Parker held up his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I would rather just not have this conversation because it was embarrassing the first time for me, and now, well…"

Gwen waited patiently for Parker to continue.

"Gwendolyn, we had been seeing each other for just over 3 months when we had our first fight. I cooked dinner for you in this house for the first time, and later that evening you wanted to take the relationship further – physically – you wanted to start a physical relationship. But I…backed off and shut you down. You wanted more than I could give and you started to doubt me. You left and went home."

Parker sighed once more before continuing. "Spike phoned you that day just wanting to talk and get things off of his chest. Instead of listening to Spike talk, you were the one that needed to vent."

"How do you know?"

Parker held up a finger, indicating that Gwen should wait for more of the story.

"You asked Spike if you were 'desirable' and Spike was upset. He was angry that some guy made you feel like you weren't desirable. Spike thought that the guy you were dating, me as it turns out, was playing games and was probably withholding sex from you for some purpose. Spike asked you if the guy was worth it, and you told him he was."

"But how – "

"Spike came to work the next day and discussed the conversation he had with a 'friend' in the locker room, before Ed arrived. He didn't mention you by name, but it was obvious to everyone that you were the 'friend' that was being crapped on by some guy. Of course Spike didn't realize that I was the guy you were seeing as we decided to keep our relationship private. Actually, I wanted to keep the relationship quiet. Only Ed knew at work."

"Oh. That must have been an awkward conversation."

"It was. I had to listen to the whole thing. It was all I could do as everyone weighed in and gave their opinions, which were pretty unanimous. The guys all agreed that I was some ass that was just jerking you around and that you would be better off without me."

"Oh. Um, why didn't you want to have sex with me? I mean, 3 months is a long time and -"

"This is the part that I wanted to avoid."

Parker sighed again.

"The night you wanted to get closer to me, I wasn't ready. I wanted to take things slow. But apparently 3 months of no physical connection was too long, and just isn't done in today's world. That night, after work, I came to your home and we talked. I told you…I told you that the last time I had sex was with my ex-wife."

Parker let Gwen process the information. When it finally dawned on her, Gwen blurted out, "But you've been divorced for 10 years! 10 years and no sex? Really?"

Parker remained silent but nodded his head in agreement.

"Oh. I can see why you thought that was embarrassing. But it's not, you know. Okay maybe a little, but – "

Parker held up a hand. "Just stop…I'm over the embarrassment."  
>"Oh. Okay. So what did I say when you told me that?" Gwen asked.<p>

Parker snorted. "You said, 'wow, you must masturbate a lot then'."

Gwen giggled. "Sorry. I shouldn't laugh, but I was thinking the same thing right now."

Parker's lips twitched and he fought the urge to smile.

"What happened next?"

"You told me that a relationship is more than just great sex and that you were here for the long run and that I should get used to it."

Gwen smiled and bit the bottom of her lip. Parker knew that look, and it usually resulted in Gwen saying or planning something naughty.

"So we have great sex?"

Parker laughed. "Yeah, we do."

Gwen continued to munch on her lower lip.

"Did we have sex that night?"

"Yes…and yes, it was great."

* * *

><p>AN: Yes, I realize that Parker not having sex for 10 years is highly unlikely. I mean, the guy is a man, and 10 years is entirely way to long a time. I just wanted Parker to be vulnerable so that Gwen would connect with that.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Okay, it's obviously time for some girl talk," Sophie stated.

Sophie Lane had decided that Gwen and she needed a girl's day where they would do nothing but talk girl stuff, and so she had organized the get together.

Sophie loved Gwen and wanted to reconnect with sister-in-law. She missed her sister-in-law and the talks they shared. Having husbands who worked for SRU meant that they had a common bond and they would often talk about the stress off being the wife of a husband on the force. That and the two ladies loved shopping and would often take the baby for a few hours of shopping. Then there was Sophie's catering business and all the help that Gwen had done so far in help shaping Sophie's store. Gwen had a knack for interior designing and was really good at putting colours together. Sophie had wanted another woman's input in designing her store, and she had found a great listener in Gwen.

Now, all of that talk was over as Gwen couldn't remember the past. Sophie was out to change that. She had had a talk with Ed, who had talked with Parker, and as a result, Gwen was now standing in Sophie's kitchen.

Things at the Lane household were going great. Sophie thought the two ladies could paint their nails and watch some sappy, romantic movies, and just be girls while the husbands took Clark and the baby to Gwen's house for a game of ball while Alfred watched the baby.

Gwen was a little nervous about girl talk. Girl talk usually meant gossip to her, and she wasn't willing to gossip about her relationship with Parker. "Girl talk?"

"We can paint our nails later, if there is any time. Right now we need to discuss the crush you have on your husband."

For a moment Gwen felt like a teenager. "Crush?"

"What would you call it?"

"Sophie, I wouldn't say 'crush' exactly…"

"Would you feel better if I said I know you have the 'hots' for your husband?"

Gwen gave a short snort and the sound surprised her. "Not really, no."

"So? Spill already."

The conversation was starting to get a little uncomfortable for Gwen, but she knew that Sophie meant no harm. "I'm not sure what you want me to say. Parker's really…nice," Gwen couldn't help finishing her sentence with a goofy smile on her face.

Sophie saw the goofy smile and knew that she would have to push Gwen to get any details from her. "Nice? That's not what you said the first time we discussed your crush on Greg. You said, and I quote, '_I've got the hots for Parker. He's gorgeous_.' So now it's time for us to have another talk about sweet Greg."

"We've had this discussion before?" Gwen was skeptical, but willing to believe it.

Sophie just leaned on her kitchen counter. Ed had told her to be sensitive to the whole amnesia issue, but to act as normal as possible. "Oh yeah. And you weren't so shy then. Now look at you."

Gwen liked Sophie. She was straight forward and told it like it was. Gwen always had a problem with keeping girlfriends as women were catty and didn't seem to like her. Sophie was different. Gwen and Sophie had a lot in common.

"Alright Sophie, I'll bite. Tell me what I can't remember."

Sophie clapped her hands together. "Perfect."

She walked around the counter, grabbed Gwen by the hand and led them both to the living room couch. Once the two were settled, with their feet up, Sophie began to direct the conversation in the direction she wanted.

"You met Greg at the station the first time you went to see Ed. Anyway, Ed being Ed, he didn't believe that you were his sister – "

"Oh…" Gwen didn't know why that information bothered her, but it did.

"Oh honey, that's ancient history. Ed is always a little skeptical about things that concern family."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Would you like me to continue, or do you want to talk about you and Eddie?"

"No, no. I think I'd rather talk about Parker right now."

Sophie smiled.

"Okay. The story between you and Ed can wait. The one between you and Greg is a more delicious one. Ed told me about the day that you came to the station and how Greg watched the whole interaction. It was Greg who told Ed to go for the DNA tests."

Gwen smiled at the thought. DNA was the right choice. It would have proved without a doubt that Gwen and Ed were related to each other. It also proved how smart Parker could be.

Sophie continued. "You met Greg in passing that first time and never thought anything of it. That's what you told me, '_he was just a cop in the background_''. Anyway, two weeks later the DNA results came back and sure enough, you were Ed's sister. Greg convinced Ed to have a talk with you. Ed asked you to meet him at the station because he wanted to meet you on his turf. The rest is history with that story, but the one with Greg took off that day. Greg told Ed that the day you walked in to the station for the second time, you took his breath away."

Gwen suspected that Sophie might be exaggerating. "I did?"

"You did. But," Sophie made a big deal of pausing, "the day he saw you at the fundraising ball, you made his heart stop."

"I was at a ball?"

"Two weeks after you and Ed started to develop your relationship, you attended a fundraising ball to raise money for troubled kids. You didn't know that Greg was going of course, but you were placed at his table. You recognized him and the two of you spent the night in each others arm, laughing and flirting."

Gwen raised her eyebrows. That didn't sound like Gwen at all. And she couldn't see Parker laughing and flirting all evening either. "Really?"

"Fine. Be a spoil sport. Maybe I did embellish a little. You told me you and Greg talked and danced for most of the evening. Apparently some jerk with long hands kept touching you and you were upset. I'd be upset too if some man was making a grab at my bum. Anyway, Greg cut in on your dance and saved the day…or rather, night. You said that Greg was the perfect gentleman, and he kept you safe by keeping you close. My version was much steamier, you know."

"I can do without the steamier version. I just want the truth, Sophie. So Parker dances?"

"Not as well as you, but then again, you are a great dancer and you whisked him off of his feet."

"Sophie, I think you and Ed need to have a date night pretty soon. You've spent too much time watching cheesy television shows! Soap operas are not real!"

"Yeah well, I wish I could get Ed to dance with me all evening! Sure he dances a few songs, but he really hates dancing."

There was a long pause before Sophie continued her story.

"Anyway, about a week later Ed and I threw a BBQ and had the team and their families over to officially meet you. When you found out that the team was coming, you asked me if Greg was going to bring anyone with him. That's when you told me about the ball. I still couldn't believe when you plain out asked me if Greg was seeing anyone the day of the BBQ. I was surprised at first. I mean Greg is a sweetheart, but…"

"What?"

"He's not exactly the best looking guy on the team and – "

"Parker's good looking! Sure he's bald, but he has great eyes and a sexy mouth, and…oh crap, I walked into that one."

Sophie smiled. "And you're sure you don't have a crush on him?"

"That was low."

"Hey, I'll get you to admit it any which way I can!"

Gwen couldn't help but smile. "Please just continue with your story."

"Fine. Oh, Gwen, you were such a flirt that day. Touching Greg's leg, leaning in a little too close, making him blush at whatever the two of you were discussing."

"I made Parker blush?"

"Oh yeah. Ed thought I was making it up of course – after all, how could his little sister possibly have a crush on his boss? Ed thought that he would have to watch out for Spike falling for you…or you him. Ed actually thought that you and Spike would make a good couple. But I knew when I saw you flirting with Greg that you were going to pursue Greg, and you did. Gwen, what's wrong?"

Sophie had noticed that Gwen's eyes began to tear up.

"I don't think Parker loves me the way everyone says he does."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been great you know. He's really patient and he explains everything when I ask, but sometimes I think he's keeping things from me. Things that he thinks are going to lead to more questions or problems. Sophie, Parker hasn't made a move on me yet. We seem to be stuck in the 'friends' zone and I don't think he'll ever make a move on me."

"Ah."

"What ah?"

"Greg likes to take things slow. That's just who he is Gwen."

"Slow? How slow?"

"Well, to use your words, 'painfully slow'. You confided in me when the two of you were first going out."

"What happened?"

"Well, you said Greg hadn't made a move to kiss you and you'd been out on 6 dates."

"Oh. That is slow. What was he waiting for?"

"Greg didn't want to get hurt."

"And I would hurt him?"

"No, of course not. Next to Ed, Greg is the world's biggest sweetheart, and guys are really dumb at these kinds of things."

"Ed's a sweetheart? Really, have you seen him in his uniform, all tough and brooding?"

Sophie smiled. "That's my man!"

Gwen laughed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Team one had nearly completed there shift. The last call went relatively smooth. Parker had watched, and listened, as Spike had talked down a boy of 11 who had shut down a hospital ward and was threatening to kill his abusive father because said father had beat the child's mother in front of him. It was touch and go at one point, and Parker was thankful he did not have to make the call to end a child's life. Each team member was tired, having worked so many days in a row; finishing a shift with a case involving a child was never easy. Everyone was looking forward to the weekend off. All they had left was to debrief.

As they were riding back to headquarters, Ed glanced at Parker who was staring out the window.

Something was up with Parker, and Ed knew exactly what, or rather who, that 'something' was - Gwen.

For the past few days, Parker had been distant. Parker was just distant to the point that other members of the team had approached Eddie and asked if Parker was doing okay.

"Boss? You see something out the window you like, you let me know and I can stop the car."

Parker pretended that he did not even hear Eddie's attempt at a joke.

"She won't let me touch her, Eddie."

Eddie took a deep breath in. He really didn't want to have this conversation with his friend.

"Greg…not sure where this conversation is heading, but if it's heading where I think it is, then I'm not the guy you want to talk to. She's my sister, Greg," Ed said, his voice was strained.

Parker could hear the weariness in Ed's voice. He directed his attention forward instead of out the side window.

"I'm not talking about in bed, Eddie. She won't let me touch her. She won't let me get near her. I can't even hold my wife in my arms." Parker paused. "She won't let me kiss her."

"Have you even tried to kiss her?"

Parker was silent for a moment before responding. "No."

Ed went to say something but Parker cut him off. "She's been keeping me at a distance. Every time I get close to her, she scoots away."

"Scoots?" Any other day and Ed would have had a joke about that word, but today was not going to be one of those days.

"The other day, I sat next to her at the kitchen table. She gave it a few minutes and got up with the pretense of getting more food. When she sat back down, she picked a different chair. It's been little things like this for two weeks now. More so since she came back from spending time with Sophie."

"You suggesting that Soph had something to do with this?"

'No, of course not. I thought Gwendolyn and I were working things out. I thought that we got closer. Sometimes she would sit closer to me on the couch, and we would talk…and we went on that date to see that musical. It's just…nothing is moving forward. Everything seems to be the same and it's frustrating me."

"Boss, you've got to give it time - "

"Eddie, for two nights in a row Gwendolyn was in bed before I got home."

"She been working long shift?"

"Not for the past two nights."

"Maybe she's tired."

"Eddie, she left the house this morning before I got up. I went to check on her and she wasn't in our room. It looked like she left in a rush when I checked our room. There were clothes all over our room. Some on hangers, some just thrown about. Ed, she just left."

The word 'left' hung in the air.

"Greg, she didn't leave. Just call her. Ask her if she's okay."

"Ed, it's been over three months and she hasn't remembered anything. What if…"

" 'What if' what?"

"What if she left today because she's done? What if Gwendolyn decided that our marriage is done. "

Ed sighed. "She's not done with your marriage, Greg."

"You don't know that Eddie. I didn't see it coming with my ex until it was too late and she left with Dean."

"This isn't the same situation, Greg. Things are completely different between you and Gwen."

Deep down, Parker knew that. "I know."

"Greg, she's been through a lot. Cut her some slack. She's been trying desperately to remember something and nothing has worked. Her memory will come back. It's got to."

"I can't loose her, Eddie. Not like this. I love her. I can't loose her when she's made my life whole again."

Eddie wished that Gwen's memory would hurry itself up and come back. It would be easier on everyone if it did.

"Have you talked to her about all of this?"

Parker didn't answer.

"Boss? Have you talked to my sister about how you're feeling?"

"No."

Eddie wanted to scream, 'why the hell not?', but didn't think that Parker could handle it. "I'm thinking maybe you should."

Parker pursed his lips together. "I'll think about it Eddie. Talking just…it just doesn't seem to be working. The connection we had is gone. It's gone, Eddie, and I don't know what to do to get it back."

Ed pulled into the lot and drove the car in. The others were in the SUV behind him. "Look Boss, right now there is one thing you can control - debrief. We do a quick debrief, not a long Greg Parker debrief, and then you can go home. You go home and wait for Gwen, and if she's not there, you call her and go to her yourself. Take her someplace neutral so you can just talk. Like a walk in the park, I don't know…women like walks in the park."

Parker looked at Eddie. "Neutral? Yeah. That's good Eddie. That's really good. I'll do that."

Ed was glad that there was a spark of hope in Parker's eyes.

Two minutes later Ed and Parker were walking into the SRU when Winnie stopped Parker. "Boss, your wife is in the briefing room."

Parker's eyes widened at the statement; his wife was here. Parker wasn't sure that Gwendolyn being at SRU headquarters was a good thing.

"Winnie, when did she get here?"

"About an hour ago. She came by cab."

Parker and Ed exchanged a look.

"Cab?" Parker echoed Winnie's response.

"Anything wrong with her car, boss?" Ed asked.

"Not that I know of. Anything else my wife say, Winnie?"

"All she asked was if she could bring her suitcase in and sit someplace. She said she just needed to read over some paperwork and didn't want to bother anyone while she waited for you."

"Suitcase?"

"Um…Yes sir."

"Did she say what the suitcase was for?"

Winnie shrugged. "No. I didn't ask. I just thought that since she's your wife - "

Parker raised his hand. "You did everything you should have."

Parker exchanged a pointed glance with Ed before taking off in the direction of the briefing room.

Ed didn't like the thoughts that were probably swimming in Parker's head about now, and quickly stepped in line with Parker.

"Greg, you don't know why she's got a suitcase with her. It could be any number of reasons."

Parker halted his stride. "Yeah, Eddie. And the number one reason she has a bag packed is because she's done with our marriage."

Ed didn't have an answer for him, so he had to settle with watching his best friend walk towards his sister.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Parker hesitated a moment before entering the briefing room. It was as if his legs didn't want to carry him in.

Winnie was right about the lack of sound. The briefing room was quiet because it was empty. No SRU officers could be found, and it was just Gwen, sitting off to one side

Parker stared at Gwen for what seemed like minutes, but was in fact only seconds. He mentally braced himself for the bad news he was going to hear as he walked into the briefing room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Parker caught a glance of the suitcase Gwen had brought with her in the cab ride over. It wasn't a suitcase that Parker owned, so either it was from Gwen's house with Alfred or she had bought it new recently. Neither thought comforted Parker.

In fact, the suitcase itself was what Parker feared the most – it was neither an overnight bag nor a small suitcase; it was a large one. It wouldn't hold all her clothes and belongings, but it would hold a lot. Parker knew that the clothes scattered on the bed and floor this morning in their home meant that Gwen had packed what she needed the most and left the rest for later.

Gwen wasn't facing Parker, so all he saw of her was her back. She was hunched over, reading some papers and jaunting down notes every few seconds.

"Gwendolyn?"

Parker must have spooked Gwen as she dropped some papers when she jumped to her feet. Picking up the papers and pen, she stood upright and looked at Parker a few seconds before looking back down at her hands.

"Hi." Her voice was soft and wavered ever so slightly.

Parker noticed the behaviour instantly; Gwen was uneasy. Her body was tense and that could only mean that she wanted to say something, but was unsure of how to go about it.

When Gwen finally made eye contact again, Parker pointed at the suitcase. He tried to keep his voice both calm and neutral at the same time, but it was difficult. "Are you going somewhere?"

Gwen shifted her weight on her feet; another red flag went up in Parker's mind as soon as he saw the weight transfer.

"Yes. Niagara Falls. I have a potential patient to meet." Gwen pointed at the papers. "I have to meet them tomorrow. It's about a little girl and the parents don't really have the time or financial resources to meet here, so I thought, its Niagara Falls…it's a beautiful city. I just have to set up preliminaries and all of that stuff…"

Parker knew that when Gwen was nervous, she often babbled and recited the smallest details just to try to keep the conversation afloat. At the moment, it didn't take a SRU officer to gather that Gwen was extremely nervous.

Parker let the new information settle in. He then decided for a different approach.

"Big suitcase."

Gwen gave a quick, embarrassed smile. "I always pack too much when I go away."

Training is what kept Parker's face neutral and void of any emotion when he heard the 'go away' part.

Gwen continued speaking. "I thought I would stay a few days before coming back… home."

The change in Parker's attitude, while not visible on the outside, was instant. He now understood and his heart lifted with the knowledge he gained. Gwen wasn't leaving him. She was just taking a break from him. Gwen said she was coming back, and Parker knew that when Gwen said something like that, she would keep her word. Parker instantly decided that he would give Gwen the time she needed to sort things out on her own.

"Okay," Parker gave a half smile, "when will you be back?"

Gwen shifted her body weight again. "Sunday night."

Parker was a little sad that Gwen would be gone all weekend, but decided that since the other option was her leaving him for good, a few days apart could give both of them perspective. Well, give Gwen perspective as Parker knew that he already wanted Gwen in his life forever.

"Sweetheart, do you mind telling me where you're staying…in case I have to reach you?"

The question was simple enough, and Gwen should have been okay answering it. The problem was, Gwen was now biting her bottom lip and was not answering the question. Parker recognized the sign straight away; Gwen was obviously trying not to say something.

"Actually…um…I spoke with Winnie…and she told me…that you were off…this weekend?" Gwen made the statement sound like a question.

Parker nodded in agreement. "I am."

"Good. I was wondering…hoping…that you might like to join me…in Niagara Falls…"

The answer was 'yes', yet Parker couldn't find his voice. He wasn't expecting that type of offer. Of all the things Gwen might have said, that offer was the least likely thing he thought she might say; especially after the way the last few weeks had gone.

"I thought it might be good to get away. Together. Away together. Maybe a mini vacation? Or a weekend away? That type of thing…"

Gwen paused, but Parker still couldn't find his voice.

"I know that I can't remember our past…I thought, maybe…maybe we could make some new memories?"

"Yeah…I'd like that," he said, eagerly nodding his head.

Gwen gave Parker a genuine smile and Parker thought his heart had stopped beating. Surely it stopped for a few seconds.

"Good. That's…good. I…um…already made a call and I've booked a room for tonight and tomorrow night. We can come home Sunday afternoon or evening. Whichever you prefer. I left my car at Emmett's and took a cab here…um…so we'll have to take your car. I can drive if you're tired. You must be tired. You've been working a lot. Long hours make people tired. I…couldn't find keys to your car – do I even have keys to your car - so I brought the suitcase in. Winnie was so nice. She found me this spot to work in and I was really quiet so I wouldn't disturb anyone. And maybe you can stop staring at me like that…" Gwen trailed off.

Parker hadn't realized that he had been staring at his wife, but he got it now. He didn't realize that the reason for Gwen's nerves had been his reaction to going away together. Gwen was nervous because she was hesitant of their relationship and thought that Parker would not want to go away with her. Inside, Parker was jumping up and down like a kindergarten at show and tell time. Outside Parker was the calm, collected, SRU negotiator he always was. Parker smiled as a new thought raced through his mind; if Gwen was hesitant about their relationship, it meant that there was still something there, and that she was still willing to try.

"Just give me time to debrief with the guys and Jules. We need to go home. I need to pack a few things. We can take off from there."

Gwen gave Parker a sheepish smile. "About that…um…I kind of packed for you."

If it was possible, Parker's smile got even wider. "You packed for me?"

Gwen blushed. "You make is sound so dirty."

Parker laughed at Gwen's blush and at what she said. He was about to say something when Gwen spoke again.

"Parker, why do you wear suspenders?"

"What?" The question was so random that it caught Parker slightly off guard.

"Suspenders. You're the only one. Ed doesn't wear them. And Spike doesn't either. Nor Wordy, nor Sam. You're not old enough to wear suspenders."

Parker chuckled. "Old enough?"

"Yeah, old. Suspenders make you look old, and you're not old enough."

Parker chuckled again.

"Boss, we're ready to debrief," Ed called from the hall. "Hey favourite sister, stop hogging the boss!"


	20. Chapter 20

**NOTE TO READERS: ****Chapter 23**** will be a "M" rating, so if you can't find my story, it is because I have changed the "T" rating to a "M" rating and you have specifically scroll for it.**

**Chapter 20**

Sergeant Parker was used to connecting with people because of his job. He was trained to talk to people, and he enjoyed talking to people. Sergeant Parker was a people person, with special training that allowed him to see beyond the surface. His ability to think on his feet is what made him one of the best at his job. So when Gwen greeted the male concierge at the desk, Parker was at a loss at what to do.

The concierge and his wife were speaking French. All Parker could do was stare and smile at the two of them. Parker didn't know that Gwen spoke French. He was even more surprised when Gwen hugged the man after she had gotten the key cards from him. From what Parker could tell, Gwen knew this man well enough and felt comfortable enough to hug him. Beyond that, Parker had no clue who the man was.

In the elevator Parker calmly said, "you speak French."

Gwen pressed the '12' button in the elevator before looking at Parker. "You didn't know that?"

"No."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I thought you knew that."

Parker shrugged his shoulders. "I learned something new about you today. My wife is bilingual. That was worth the trip already," Parker said with a smile.

"So you don't speak French then?"

Parker shook his head. "I can understand a word or two."

"I'm so sorry. I thought that you could understand what we were talking about. That was so rude of me."

"No worries. It's not even an issue, sweetheart."

"Oh, good."

Parker gave Gwen a slow smile.

"I'm not bilingual, you know."

Parker raised his eyebrows.

The elevator door chimed and opened to the twelfth floor.

"I'm fluent in Spanish, and Russian. Here is one card for you, and one for me. We are in room 1210."

Parker caught the 'we' straight away. "One bedroom?" Parker asked as he was rolling the suitcase down the hall on the way to their room. The suitcase wasn't too heavy, but Parker was a gentleman and was rolling it anyway.

"Is that a problem?" Gwen asked as she glanced over her shoulder.

Parker shook his head. "Nope. No problem."

Gwen glanced at Parker, who was still in his SRU uniform. "You could have changed out of your uniform, you know. I would have waited."

Parker didn't want to tell Gwen that he was worried she might change her mind and leave on this weekend trip without him. Besides, Parker didn't feel that it was necessary to change out of his work clothes when Gwen had packed clothes for him.

"I thought you liked my uniform?" Parker teased.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You may think you're wearing the cool pants, but only those in law enforcement think they're cool! Everyone else thinks they are just grey."

Gwen stopped so suddenly that Parker almost ran into her. Years of police training made Parker stop just shy of bumping into Gwen.

"Cool pants! Parker, your pants, they're cool pants!"

"I tend to think they are."

"No. I remember…I mean I think I do. I asked Ed once why he loves his job so much, and he said 'It's because I get to wear the cool pants'. Parker, I remembered something! I remembered! Just like that, I remembered something!"

Parker smiled. "That's great, sweetheart. Anything else?"

Gwen thought for a moment and then frowned. "No. But if one memory comes back, then more will follow."

Gwen continued to walk until she arrived at room 1210. She used the key, opened the bedroom door and walked in. The room was exactly what she wanted; a corner unit with a view of the falls. It was beautiful. Gwen always loved coming to Niagara Falls.

Parker noticed that Gwen went right to the window to look at the view of the falls and that she bypassed the bed. Parker was a little taken aback by the king-sized bed that was in the middle of their room. He had assumed Gwen had got a room with two beds. Since Gwen hadn't said anything when she walked by it, Parker figured she ordered a room with one king-sized bed. He hoped she did, otherwise this next conversation was going to get a little uncomfortable.

"Sweetheart?"

"Hmm," Gwen answered while looking out the window at the view.

"Sweetheart, there's only one bed."

Gwen turned her head slightly so that she could see Parker a bit better. "I know. Is that a problem?"

Parker couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He had to stop himself from shaking his head. "Nope. No problem."

Parker laid the suitcase on the bed and began to unzip it. He really wanted to shower and then dress in clothes other than his work clothes.

"No!" Gwen yelped.

Parker stopped mid-zip. "What's wrong?"

"Um…" Gwendolyn wasn't sure where to begin. "Come here…please."

If Parker thought the command a little strange, he didn't question it as he approached Gwen.

"Parker, I'm not sure how to ask…umm…"

Parker simply waited for Gwen to finish her sentence.

"Are you happy with me Parker?"

"Yes."

Gwen noticed that Parker answered immediately and there was no hesitation in his voice.

"No, I mean, like how we are right now. Parker, we live in separate bedrooms. You haven't even kissed me yet."

"Sweetheart, I'm waiting for you to decide what's okay and what's not."

"Well then it's not okay that you haven't kissed me yet."

Parker gave a half smile and put his left hand on Gwen's collarbone and his right hand just behind her ears. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips, and to Parker it felt like heaven.

He pulled back slightly to see Gwen's reaction. He needn't have bothered being worried about being so forward, as Gwen closed the distance this time.

Parker could have stayed like that all evening, just kissing his wife, but he knew that he had to stop before things went further.

When he pulled back, Gwen touched her hand to her slightly swollen lips and looked at him through heavy eyes.

"Oh. That was…oh."

Deciding it was a good 'oh', Parker smiled. "Was that too much?"

"No…um…it was…sensual."

Parker gave Gwen a big smile. "I can do 'sensual' again."

"hmm…," was Gwen's only response before Parker kissed her.

The kisses intensified. Parker could feel Gwen responding in his arms. She was running her hands up and down his torso. When Gwen reached for Parker's belt and began to undo it, Parker had to stop her.

"Stop," he said between kisses. "Sweetheart, you've got to stop."

"No," Gwen said as she kissed him.

Parker moved his head back and captured her face in both of his hands. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. We need to go slower, okay?"

"What? Why?"

"You're rushing into things."

"No I'm not. You're my husband."

Parker gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I am your husband. We don't need to go that fast, Gwendolyn. We've got time."

Gwen's face showed disappointment, and Parker couldn't stand seeing it like that.

"Sweetheart, why don't you let me have a shower, and then I can take you out to dinner. We'll see how that goes, okay?"

"You think I'll change my mind."

Parker sighed. "You might, and that would be fine. I'll be okay with whatever you decide."

"You're being rather reasonable."

Parker shrugged. "I'm patient."

Gwen released Parker. "Dinner sounds good."


	21. Chapter 21

**NOTE TO READERS: ****Chapter 23**** will be a "M" rating, so if you can't find my story, it is because I have changed the "T" rating to a "M" rating and you have specifically scroll for it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21<strong>

When Parker was in the shower, Gwen opened the suitcase. She quickly grabbed the clothes for Parker and knocked on the washroom door.

"Parker, I've got your change of clothes."

"You can come in, sweetheart. I didn't lock the door."

Gwen hesitated. "What about you?"

Parker thought the question odd, until he realized what Gwen was really asking. Being head negotiator in the SRU really helped with reading between the lines.

"The curtain is not see-through."

"Oh, okay." Gwen opened the door and sure enough, the shower curtain was a solid beige colour.

"I'll just leave the clothes on the counter."

"That's fine."

Gwen paused for a moment and looked at the beige shower curtain. She then giggled.

"What's so funny?" Parker asked.

"Random thought. Sorry."

Parker smiled in the shower knowing that Gwen couldn't see him. He guessed at what Gwen was thinking only because they had been in a similar situation before, and Gwen just couldn't remember.

"Go on, I can take it."

"Take what?" said Gwen, trying to sound innocent.

"Whatever was rolling through your head a moment ago."

"Oh. You sure?"

"This about the shampoo?"

Gwen's mouth dropped open and when she closed it, she giggled again.

Parker rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't waste expensive shampoo on my head. I know better," he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Gwen said as she was holding back the giggles.

"Uh-huh."

"I'll leave now."

Parker heard the door close behind Gwen. He braced one hand against the shower wall and bent forward, allowing the water to pour over his head. It was a long day, and Parker was tired, but Gwen had given him a new sense of energy.

Parker finished showering and grabbed a towel to dry himself off. When he opened the curtain he was surprised at two things.

The first being that along with a change of clothes, which were folded and placed neatly on the counter, there was a bottle of cologne. Parker wasn't one to wear cologne and was surprised to see it.

The second surprise was that his SRU uniform was no longer on the floor where he had stripped out of it. Gwen must have taken it with her when she left.

Parker took his time getting dressed. He hesitated when he lifted the cologne and gave it a sniff. It was manly enough, so Parker sprayed two squirts on. He looked at himself in the mirror above the sink and approved of Gwen's choice.

Parker opened the door as quietly as he could. Gwen had her back to him and was sitting on the bed running her hands over his identification badge, sewn into his uniform. Parker smiled at the sight.

Gwen was glad when she left the bathroom. All she could think about was that Parker was naked. She was glad when 10 minutes later Parker emerged from the bathroom looking less like a cop and more like a husband.

Gwen loved the clothes she had picked out for Parker. "You look hot!"

Parker smiled. A woman hadn't told him that in…a very long time.

"Sweetheart, when you said you packed clothes for me, I thought you packed ones that I already owned."

Parker looked good in blue, Gwen decided, and since blue was her favourite colour, she went out and bought him a royal blue casual shirt with a new pair of dark denim jeans.

"Like I said, you look hot!"

Parker huffed. "What was wrong with the clothes I owned?"

"I saw this shirt and it reminded me of you."

"I see. Why do women say that? How does a piece of clothing remind you of me?"

Gwen opened her mouth, closed it and then gave Parker a lazy smile. "What women?"

"Hey, there are some SRU groupies."

"Yeah?"

Parker nodded his head. "Yeah. They've got t-shirts and posters…some have calendars of us too."

"Calendars like the sexy firemen?"

"Now how come firemen are always 'sexy'?"

"Because they take their shirts off and are usually slathered in oil and then drenched in water that glistens off their hard bodies."

"Right, sorry I asked."

"I'd buy a calendar with you in it."

Parker chuckled. "Too late now."

"Why?"

"Married man, remember? You can't be in a calendar if you're married."

"I wouldn't want you in one anyway. I wouldn't want any woman staring at my man." Gwen blushed as she was saying this.

Parker liked this vulnerable side of Gwen. Her blushing was sexy.

"You never answered my question," Parker said indicating his new outfit.

Gwen smiled. "I…um…also bought a new dress and shoes for me, so I thought I'd get you something new too."

Parker huffed. "Of course you did. New shoes."

"I'll go change now."

Gwen sashayed over to Parker and placed a kiss on his lips. It wasn't a hard kiss, just a soft kiss. As she walked toward the bathroom, Gwen knew that Parker was looking at her ass.

Parker thought Gwen looked fine the way she was, but he knew enough about women to keep quiet. If Gwen wanted to dress up for him, Parker wasn't going to stop her.

"When do I get to see the new shoes?" he asked through the closed doors.

Parker could hear Gwen laugh.

Parker let a chuckle escape his mouth when he heard the door lock behind Gwen. His wife was a mystery. She gave him the most intense kisses ever, came into the bathroom when he was in the shower, and yet when she was in the bathroom she locked the door behind her. It didn't matter though, as Parker would let Gwen lead. He would blindly follow Gwen around this weekend just to see where it would end.

Parker picked up his uniform. Out of habit he folded it so that it wouldn't have too many creases in it.

Parker was not one to snoop, but he couldn't help himself. He looked at the suitcase on the bed and curiosity got the better of him. Parker just had to open the suitcase to see what was inside.


	22. Chapter 22

**NOTE TO READERS: ****Chapter 23**** will be a "M" rating, so if you can't find my story, it is because I have changed the "T" rating to a "M" rating and you have specifically scroll for it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22 <strong>

Gwen finally felt like her relationship with Parker was moving forward. Ever since she had that conversation with Sophie, Gwen had been uneasy. She felt that she wanted more with Parker, but she just wasn't sure how to go about getting it.

Gwen thought Parker might scare easily if she straight out jumped him, so she decided it would be best to give him some space and make him come to her. She waited and waited, yet every time Parker got 'close' to her it was for some other reason; he needed to get to the coffee cup so he would lean past her and grab a cup; he needed the car keys, so he would lean over her shoulder and place a hand on her back only to move away. Those types of things kept happening and Gwen kept waiting for Parker to make a move and kiss her. He didn't.

Gwen was a little concerned. Parker didn't seem like the cuddling type, but then she could be wrong. So one evening, a few nights previous, Gwen was excited when Parker sat down on the couch near her. He even went as far as putting an arm around her. Gwen thought that was the night Parker would kiss her, but she was wrong. Parker just wanted to watch TV. After ten minutes Gwen couldn't stand being so close to Parker and not being able to touch him the way she wanted, that she had to get away from him. As subtle as she could, she moved away from him. Gwen didn't think Parker even noticed she had moved.

Of course all of this was behind them now, as Gwen had got Parker to kiss her. In retrospect, the direct route would have been easier than the more subtle overtures she had been sending Parker for a while now.

And now…Parker and Gwen were enjoying dinner at a cozy restaurant.

"Sweetheart?"

"Hmm?"

"You look beautiful."

Gwen couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. Sure the line was cheesy, but what woman didn't like to be told that she looked beautiful. Gwen knew that Parker was being sincere so the compliment was even more heartfelt.

"Parker, you're something else, you know that."

"How so?"

"Sometimes the things you say…"  
>"What about them?"<p>

"It's a little…intense. It's not a bad thing. I just…sometimes I'm not sure that I want to hear the things you say."

"You mean you're not ready to hear them," Parker clarified.

"Yes. I wasn't sure how I felt at the beginning when you kept calling me sweetheart."

Parker understood. "And now?"

Gwen smiled. "It's like I'm in a high school relationship where I'm attracted to you but I don't really know what I want…except, that I want you…"

"There's no rush Gwendolyn. There's no pressure. I don't want you to feel like I'm expecting anything from you."

"That's just it. I feel like I'm being torn in two directions. Parker, when you kissed me, my body responded. You had to have felt it. I felt it from you."

Parker's eyes grew wide, but he remained silent.

"And my heart is telling me to jump right in…but my head is…my head is…"

"Your head is telling you to be cautious."

"A little."

"I found the box of condoms in the suitcase."

Gwen stared Parker straight in the face and gave him a cheeky grin before saying, "they're obviously for you."

Parker chuckled. "I figured as much. And the really gorgeous lingerie?"

Gwen smiled. "Same answer: they're obviously for you. And I would have preferred sexy instead of gorgeous by the way."

"And you really want this? You're sure?"

Gwen took a deep breath in, and hesitated in answering. Parker recognized the hesitation instantly and understood. His wife didn't know what she wanted from him. "Sweetheart, if you want me to get another room for tonight – "

"No. That's not what I want. I'm not trying to be indecisive. I know that I want to be closer to you Parker. I want more."

"More?" Parker was skeptical.

"Yes. I know that you love me Parker. I can see it in your eyes. Every morning you come downstairs and you stare at me, hoping that I've remembered something. And every morning you're disappointed."

"No, it's not like that."

"It's okay. I mean, I've stopped trying to look at everything and hope that my memories will come back. It's been too frustrating. I keep staring at pictures trying to remember and nothing is being triggered. I haven't given up…I'm just trying not to focus on it so much."

"I know that you feel on edge because you can't remember the last 10 months. Sweetheart, I stare at you because I don't want to loose you. Every morning when I wake up, I'm thankful that you are still in our home. I love you, Gwendolyn. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it."

Gwen was taken aback by Parker's feelings. She hadn't even considered how deep Parker's feelings went before. She knew he loved her, she just didn't realize that his love was so complete.

"You think you might loose me? I didn't know that you felt that way. Why didn't you tell me?"

Parker sighed. "I didn't want to add to the pressure you're under."

"You're a good guy."

Parker gave Gwen a brief smile. "Thanks."

"I know you love me…but I'm not there yet. At the love department, I mean. That doesn't mean that I want to ignore these feelings I have for you. There is something here, and I'm not ready to pull away from that."

"I can work with that."

Gwen went back to finishing her dinner. She was hungry.

"Parker, do you ever use your negotiating skills on me?"

Parker had to think carefully on how he would answer that question. In the end he decided on the truth.

"I wouldn't call them skills, but yes, I've used certain techniques on you."

"Oh. I guess it would be hard to separate the sergeant from the man."

Parker smirked. "I don't do it on purpose, Gwendolyn."

Gwen waved her hand. "I know. It's just a little eerie."

Parker understood. His team had no problem talking to him because they knew he was a secret keeper. His wife felt uneasy with talking with him because she thought Parker would judge her.

"Gwendolyn, I – "

"Oh Parker, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I'm just getting used to you being a police officer. I…it's not easy waking up and finding out you're married to a police officer."

Parker nodded his head in agreement.

"Parker…I just think sometimes you're staring at me like you can see through me and it's intense. You're smart Parker, and I like that about you. I really do. I'm just getting used to…you."

"Okay."

"That's it? Just okay?"

Parker didn't respond, he just stared at Gwen.

"You're doing it again. That intense look."

Parker smiled and lowered his gaze a moment before looking back at Gwen. "Better?"

"Yes."

"What time is your meeting tomorrow?"

"9:30"

"You look beautiful."

Gwen laughed. "And you're a charmer."

Parker shrugged. "Only for you."

Gwen's breath caught as she realized that Parker was dead serious. He was staring at her with those intense eyes of his.

"Would you like to order dessert?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

><p>last reminder:<p>

**NEXT CHAPTER I WILL MOVE THE STORY TO THE "M" RATING SO LOOK FOR MY STORY UNDER THERE!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

When they got back to the hotel, Gwen was a wreck on the inside. On the outside, she looked gorgeous in her black dress and her nude shoes. The outfit really was worth every penny that she had spent on it.

Gwen had carefully planned this weekend trip and knew what she wanted, she was just unsure of how to actually start it.

"I want to have sex," she blurted out. "With you," she clarified.

Parker turned his head away from Gwen's direction, but not before Gwen saw the smile that appeared on it.

"Are you laughing at me?"

Parker whipped his head around.

"No sweetheart, just a little taken by surprise, that's all."

"Oh. I guess that might have come out a bit strong."

"It did," Parker said in between chuckles.

Parker could sense that his wife was nervous. "You're nervous."

"A little."

"We shouldn't do this. Not now."

"I want this."

"You think you want this sweetheart. You're not ready."

"Don't do that. Don't try and negotiate me. Not here. Not like this. Not in this room."

"You're hands are shaking," Parker said as he causally pointed to Gwen's hands.

"I know."

"Come here." Parker held out his hands.

Gwen covered the distance between them.

Parker placed both of his hands on either side of Gwen's face.

"I'm not rejecting you. I want to take things slow. I'm asking that we take this slow and not rush into anything."

"I hate slow."

"You don't hate slow. You think you hate slow. There's a difference."

"I'm wet."

Parker felt his eyes grow wide. Gwen was making this very hard on him.

"Gwendolyn…"

"All through dessert I kept thinking about you."

Parker let his hands slide down to Gwen's shoulders. "Stop. Just stop."

"I kept thinking about your hands and how long those fingers are."

Parker was fighting a losing battle and he knew it.

"I want to know what it feels like to have them touching my body."

Parker's breathing increased.

"I want to know what it feels like to have them inside my body."

"Gwendolyn, are you sure you want this, because I'm going to have a hard time stopping if this continues."

Gwen placed a soft, wet kiss on Parker's neck. She didn't stop there. Gwen continued to trail kisses along Parker's jaw line until she reached the corner of his lips. Gently, Gwen cupped Parker's face with her hands and kissed him tentatively.

Parker remained still and had his eyes open, but his breathing was more pronounced.

Gwen gave Parker a lazy smile before licking her lips.

Parker's defences were down and all he wanted was Gwen.

"Slow. We do this slow," was all Parker could say.

Gwen nodded her head in approval and reached behind her back to unzip her dress.

"Sweetheart, I want to take your clothes off," Parker stated.

Gwen thought she might orgasm standing right there. All she could do was hold her breath and nod.

Parker reached around Gwen and unzipped her dress. He looked her in the eyes to make sure she was okay with what he was doing.

Parker couldn't bring himself to kiss Gwen yet. He knew that if he started kissing her, things would not go slow like he planned.

Gwen couldn't stop her hands from shaking.

Parker peeled Gwen's dress forward and Gwen helped Parker with the arms.

Both Parker and Gwen heard Gwen's dress hitting the floor.

Parker kept his eyes on Gwen's face. He wanted desperately to look down, but he didn't. He wanted to make sure Gwen was okay.

Gwen licked her bottom lip again.

"Parker, you can look down."

Parker didn't need to be told twice. He looked and he saw his wife wearing a black bra and crotchless panties.

"You shaved…everywhere," was Parker's only coherent response to the crotchless panties.

Gwen gave Parker a wide smile.

"I did. Do you like it?"

Parker looked Gwen in the eyes.

"I love you."

"I know."

Parker leaned towards Gwen, closed his eyes and laid a hard kiss on her lips.

Gwen responded.

Parker gently pushed Gwen down on the bed, breaking the kiss.

"Lie back."

Gwen did as she was told.

She opened her legs.

Parker removed his shoes but kept his clothes on.

"That's all I get to see?"

"More later." Parker promised.

Parker laid one knee between Gwen's legs and the other on the outside; his body was slightly on top of Gwen's, and he silenced any more talk with his kisses.

At first they were hard and demanding, but then Parker began to kiss her cheek, her jaw line, her neck.

Gwen arched her body and connected with clothes.

"Off. Take it all off."

"Slow, sweetheart, we're going to go slow."

Gwen felt like her body was humming.

Parker used a hand to unhook Gwen's bra.

"So beautiful," he whispered.

"More."

Parker smiled. "Breathe Gwendolyn."

Parker trailed a hand from Gwen's breast down to her panty line. As he got further, Parker watched Gwen's face.

Gwen had closed her eyes and was enjoying Parker's hands on her body. Everywhere he touched, Gwen felt a burn.

When Parker slipped his middle finger inside, Gwen tried to arch her body upward, but Parker placed his weight on her, effectively pinning her down.

"You ARE wet," Parker stated.

"Hmm," was all Gwen could say.

Parker kissed Gwen and when he felt her hand find his forearm, Parker moved his finger in and out of her slowly.

"More."

Parker ignored the plea as Gwen's fingers clenched hard on his forearm.

Gwen's eyes were still closed and she was biting her bottom lip more fiercely this time.

Parker inserted another finger but still kept the same slow pace. He wanted to build the pleasure and he knew it was working.

Gwen tried to buck, but had to settle for squirming instead.

Parker increased his speed. "Let go sweetheart. Just let go."

Gwen did.

Parker tried to silence the scream with a kiss, but was unsuccessful.

Gwen could hear her heart beating as she came back down.

She opened her eyes and looked at Parker.

When she felt that she could speak, all Gwen said was "more."

Parker smiled.

Gwen reached for Parker's shirt.

Parker licked his fingers before unbuttoning his shirt and removing it.

Together, and through a lot of kisses, Parker's shirt was tossed to the floor.

Gwen pushed Parker on his back and went about undoing his belt.

Parker watched as his wife unzipped his pants.

When Gwen lifted her body slightly off of his, Parker helped her slide his pants and boxers off.

Gwen decided that she would straddle Parker so she made the move to do so.

In theory it was a good idea, but in reality, Gwen was a little wobbly and she lost her balance and had to put one hand on Parker and one hand on the bed to brace her weight.

Parker smiled. "You're still coming down, aren't you?"

Gwen smiled. "Yes. But I want this."

"I know. I want this too. How about I lead for a bit?"

Gwen placed a lazy kiss on Parker's lips.

"Just for bit?"

Parker nodded. "You can do whatever you want later."

Gwen nodded her head.

Parker didn't move Gwen straight away. He simply picked up a pillow and placed it halfway down the bed.

Gwen looked at the pillow.

"For me?"

"Unless you think your legs can handle it?"

Gwen thought about it. Her legs were still a bit wobbly from a few moments before.

Slowly Gwen lifted her body off of Parker and lay on her back, the pillow just under her hips.

Parker knelt between Gwen's legs.

"You okay?" Parker asked.

"Yeah. I'm ready."

Parker smiled and leaned in to give Gwen a quick kiss before settling in.

Parker was beyond turned on.

Slowly he entered Gwen and Gwen used her legs to keep him still.

"I have to move sweetheart. You've got to let me move."

Gwen nodded her head and soon Parker was settling into a medium paced speed.

Gwen could feel Parker's hands on her hips as he was pulling her when he entered her. She tried to get her legs under her to give him a better angle, but her legs wouldn't work properly.

Parker had changed the speed again and had tightened his hold on Gwen's hips.

Gwen cried out at the sudden grip, but Parker didn't register it.

After one really intense yank, Parker came inside of Gwen and he fell forward.

Parker was breathing heavily and so was Gwen.

"Did you…?" Parker asked.

"No."

Parker winced. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. I couldn't help myself. Give me a bit."

Parker went to draw out of Gwen, but she wrapped a leg around him.

"No. It's okay. I…that was beautiful Parker. I just want to stay like this for awhile."

"Okay." Parker gave Gwen a smile. "Can you lift up a bit so I can take the pillow out?"

Gwen did as Parker asked.

Parker braced some of his weight on his arm, knees and Gwen's body.

When he looked Gwen in the eyes again, Parker couldn't stop the words from his mouth.

"I love you Gwendolyn."


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you so much for the reviews. Here is a short chapter.  
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**Chapter 24**

In the men's locker room, the guys were getting ready to start the shift. The atmosphere was relaxed as everyone had enjoyed their weekend break.

"So?"

Parker looked at Ed. "What?"

"The Falls?"

Parker simply raised his eyebrows.

Ed shrugged his shoulders. "Gwen told Sophie. Sophie told me."

Parker sighed. "You couldn't have given me any warning on Friday?"

"I didn't know until I got home. Women. Secrets. You know how it is."

"What falls?" Spike asked.

"The Boss took Gwen to Niagara Falls," Ed supplied.

"Sweet. Great place to take a date," Sam commented.

Parker nodded his head.

"So?" Ed repeated.

Parker gave Ed a great big smile. "We're good, Ed."

"You guys hold hands?" Spike asked, being the playful guy that he always was.

"Did you take a horse and carriage ride?" Wordy asked genuinely.

"Did you gamble?" Sam asked out of curiosity.

"Yes. No. Yes," Parker answered.

"Did you win big?" Spike asked.

Parker chuckled. "We spent $20 each. Got back about $5."

"Ohhhh. Watch out. The Boss is a high roller," Sam said.

The team laughed.

"Laugh it up guys," Parker said.

"Any reason why I'm having dinner with Gwen tonight?" Ed asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

Parker chuckled. "All she told me was that she was having dinner with her brother. She told me yesterday and then again today. It seems Gwendolyn wants to get to know her big brother."

"Awwwwww," Spike said.

Ed silenced Spike with a look that made Spike shut up.

"She's coming around then?"

Parker nodded. "Yes. She remembered something at the Falls."

"What?"

"You telling her that you love your job because you get to wear the cool pants."

Ed chuckled. "It's the only reason I still do this job, boss. We get to wear the cool pants."

"Hey boss!"

Ed and Parker looked for the voice of the 'hey boss'. Spike was in the doorway.

"What is it Spike?"

"I just got a text from Gwen. I didn't know there was a game tonight?"

"What game?" Ed asked.

"Basketball at Alfred's," Spike said.

"You know about this, boss?" Ed asked Parker.

"Nope."

"You're coming though, right boss?" Spike asked.

"I'm in," Parker said.

Spike eagerly nodded his head. "Sam?"

"I'm good."

"Wordy?"

"Can't. I'm doing something with the girls."

"How come I wasn't invited?" Ed frowned as Spike ran off.

"Your sister. Dinner," Parker said.

"Dinner. Right."

Ed met Gwen at the restaurant. Gwen was already sitting at a table.

"Hi Ed," Gwen said as she got up from her seat.

Ed went to give Gwen a hug, and this time, she let him. It was when she held on a little too long that Ed thought something was up.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"No reason. Let's order, I'm starving," Ed said as they both sat down.

When they had ordered their food and were waiting for it, Ed looked at Gwen. She was relaxed and calm.

"How was the Falls?"

Gwen smiled a little before answering. "Good. It was good."

"Work good?"

"Yes."

"You and Greg good?"

"Yes. You and Sophie good?"

Ed snorted. "It was just a question, Gwen."

"Sorry. I know. I just…everything with Parker is still so new. To me. New to me."

Ed shrugged his shoulder. "Eh. It'll come back. Greg told me you remembered something."

Gwen nodded her head. "I did. I remembered something else too."

"What?"

"Music."

"What kind of music?"

"Clark's."

"Anything else?"

"A promise I think I made to him."

"What kind of promise?"

"Did I promise him a new cello?"

Ed shook his head no. "Not that I know."

"Um…Maybe I promised him a cello and didn't tell you about it."

"Clark would have said something to me or Soph."

Gwen looked a little disappointed. "Oh. I thought that it was a memory. It seemed like a memory."

Ed held up a finger.

Ed took out his phone and dialed Clark. "Hey buddy, how's it going?…I got a question for you. Did your Aunt Gwen promise to buy you a new cello…no? You're sure?...No that's it…tell your mom I love her." Ed hung up the phone.

"I guess that settles it, then. I'm remembering things that didn't happen. Wonderful. Now I have to worry about false memories. "

"Don't stress about it."

"Easy for you to say. You actually have memories which are not false."

"You think you can't trust your memories because one is false?"

"What am I going to do, Ed? Ask you or Parker when I remember something if it really happened?"

"May not be a bad idea."

Gwen frowned because she was frustrated. "I was being sarcastic."

Ed smiled. "I know."

"How's the baby?"

"She's good. She's missing her godmother a lot though."

"Oh. She doesn't come by to see her?"

Ed looked at Gwen strange and then it hit him. "Gwen, you are the godmother."

Gwen looked confused for a second and then she couldn't stop smiling. "I am?"

"Yes."

"You're not just playing with me, are you?"

"Why would I do that?"

"So my niece is my goddaughter?"

"Yes."

"Wow."

"I thought Greg would have told you."

"He didn't. I guess it never came up."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Four weeks later a tall, muscular man entered SRU headquarters. It was the first time he had been to the SRU, but he knew a few people who worked there; two were family. The man looked around until he saw a police officer at the front desk. Her identification tag identified her as Winnie. The man looked Winnie over, and if he wasn't in such a hurry to see a certain someone, the man would have chatted Winnie up and would have asked for her phone number. But today was not one of those days, and the man was completely focussed on getting results.

When the man approached Winnie, she gave him a welcoming smile.

"I want to speak to Greg Parker," the man said. He felt bad about being so abrupt, but he really wanted to speak with Parker.

"Sure. First I just need you to give me your name and then I'll see what I can do."

"Listen, I know you're just doing your job, just be a good woman and get the man out here now! That's what I need. That's what I want."

Ed and Sam had just come around the corner when they heard the man speaking to Winnie.

Sam made a move to defend Winnie, but Ed held him back.

Ed had heard enough. He knew the man was a hot head and that it would be best to diffuse the situation as soon as possible.

"Hey buddy, what's going on?" Ed asked as casually as he could. Ed's body language screamed that he was ready to take on trouble if the man wanted to go down that route.

"Ed. Hi." The man seemed to relax a little in Ed's presence.

"Stopping in for a visit?" Ed asked.

"No. Ed, you got help me. I need to speak with Parker."

"Okay. I hear you. Anything wrong?"

"Stupid cop…," the man said as he lowered his voice, "Parker. I need to speak with him. It's important or I wouldn't be down here in this kind of place." With that, the man waved his hand indicating a police station.

Ed wasn't sure what was going on. "Follow me. Sam?"

"On it, boss."

Ed took the man down the hall and straight to the briefing room. The entire walk was done in silence, but that didn't mean that Ed wasn't watching the man to his left.

When Ed and the man got to the briefing room, Ed turned to the man. "Gwen okay?"

"Yes." The man paused. "No."

"Which is it buddy? Cause I'm having problems following you."

Parker entered the briefing room and looked at the man.

"Shane," Parker nodded his head in acknowledgment, "what can I do for you?"

"You can help by getting my sister to stop crying over you, for starters."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Parker calmly asked.

"We found her crying in the pool."

"We? Who we?" Ed asked.

"Emmett and I. She didn't know we were coming over. It was just luck that both of us went there. Al said Gwen was swimming. We didn't go to the pool straight away, but when we did, we saw her facing the corner. Gwen wasn't swimming. At first we didn't know what she was doing."

Shane seemed to have stopped talking.

"Okay," Ed said, indicating that Shane should continue.

"Then she started swimming laps. At first I didn't think anything about it, but then she started to get tired and cold and she didn't want come out."

Parker's mind was racing, but his exterior was calm.

"Is she okay?"

"Yes. She's fine. I sort of yelled at her to get out of the pool."

Parker simply raised an eyebrow. He didn't have to look at Ed to know that Ed's facial expression would be tight and angered. Shane never 'sort of yelled'; he would have full out started berating Gwen, and all of them knew it.

"Parker, the whole time Gwen had been crying."

"Did she say what she was crying about?"

"Yeah. When she came out the pool, she ran at Emmett and held on. We couldn't make out what she was trying to say at first. And then, well, it didn't make any sense."

"And?" Parker pressed.

Shane sighed. "You're a cop and you're supposed to think clearly and calmly. So don't get all defensive and overreact."

"Okay."

"Gwen thinks…she's thinks she had an affair."

Ed chuckled until he saw that Shane was serious.

Parker was sure his mouth had dropped open.

"That's ridiculous. Gwen wouldn't cheat on Greg. End of story," Ed said.

"I know that, you know that, hell, even Parker knows that, but Gwen thinks she's having an affair. Had an affair."

"Why would she think that?" Parker asked.

"I don't know. She says she remembers loving some douche."

"She remembers?" Parker said.

"Sort of."

"Shane, start from beginning." Parker said.

"I'm not even sure there was a beginning!"

"Shane," Parker began, "what exactly did Gwen say."

"All she keeps saying is she loves Scarlatti."

"She said that?" Ed asked.

"Yeah. Then she says she can't love him."

"Shane, where is Gwendolyn now?" Parker asked.

"She's still at home. Emmett is with her. Parker, who is Scarlatti?"

Parker glanced at Ed and then back at Shane. "It's Spike. Scarlatti is Spike."

"Spike?" Shane said.

Ed nodded his head.

"Spike? The nerdy one of you guys?" Shane clarified again.

Parker raised his eyebrows in Spike's defence.

"There's no way she had an affair Parker. And with that guy? No way. She wouldn't do that," Shane said.

"I know that Shane," Parker said.

Shane eyed Parker and gave him a quick up and down glance. "You're not just being all girly and holding your emotions in, right? You do know that she's all stressed and confused, and she - "

Parker held up his hand. "Shane. Stop. Look, I'm almost finished my shift. I'm going to talk to her."

Shane saw Spike out of the corner of his eyes, and he took off.

Ed saw Spike and less than a second later he was off after Shane, with Parker trailing behind.

"Hey Spike!"

Spike smiled when he saw Shane. "Hey man, what's up?"

"You having an affair with my sister?"

Spike's eyes nearly increased to twice their normal size. He looked at Shane, then at Ed, and lastly at Parker before answering honestly.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

For a half second Spike couldn't answer. When his brain started to function again, Spike answered honestly. "No."

Shane looked at Spike. "You're sure?"

Spike smiled. "Yeah, I'm sure. Boss, what's going on?"

Parker held up his hand again. "Gwendolyn seems to think she's having an affair with you."

"What! Why would she think that?" Spike then looked at Shane.

Parker took a deep breath. "Spike – "

"Boss, I'm not having an affair with Gwen. I'm not, I swear. It's crazy."

"I know. I believe you, Spike."

Spike looked relieved. "Oh."

Parker turned to Ed. "Eddie, I'm going to take some personal time."

Ed agreed with Parker. "Go. We got it covered."

"Call me if you need me."

"We won't. Just go." Ed said.

Parker was greeted with silence when he got to Gwen's home. It didn't last long.

"Parker, hey." Emmett's voice was soft.

"How is she doing, Emmett?"

"Not good. Shane tell you everything?"

"Yes. I know she didn't have an affair Emmett."

Emmett smiled. "Well you're taking it better than I would have."

Parker smirked. "Where is she?"

Emmett looked at Parker. He didn't seem to be angry or even upset. In fact, Emmett thought Parker looked worried more than anything else.

"Bedroom. She's been sitting by the window just looking over the back garden. She stopped talking to me awhile ago. She's really upset by this."

When Parker opened Gwen's door he noticed three things. One, Gwen was sitting in her bay window curled up, with her hands around her knees. Two, a photo frame with their wedding photo had apparently been thrown against a wall and had smashed. Three, Gwen's radio was on.

As soon as Parker turned off the radio, Gwen's head snapped up. When she saw that it was Parker, her face looked miserable.

Parker gave Gwen an encouraging smile. "Hi Sweetheart."

Gwen's lips trembled. "Hi."

"Do you mind if I sit?" Parker asked, indicating to the empty seat beside Gwen.

Gwen nodded her head.

"Shane came to see me at work."

Gwen nodded her head again. "He told you then. He told you what I did?"

It dawned on Parker that Gwen thought he was there to berate her. That he thought Gwen would actually break their vows. That he would feel betrayed.

"Sweetheart, why don't you start from the beginning?"

Gwen dropped her eyes and focussed on her knees. She took a deep breath in and held it for a second before letting it out.

"I was on the computer when the memory came back. I remember…I remember the words 'I heart Scarlatti'."

Gwen looked up at Parker. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't love Spike. I swear, I don't."

"Gwendolyn, I know. I know. I don't think you had an affair."

"You don't. How can you not?"

"Gwendolyn you wouldn't be able to keep an affair a secret from me, or from anyone. Your conscience wouldn't allow it."

Gwen eyed Parker. "Then how do explain the memory?"

"You said you 'heart' Spike, not that you love him. 'I heart Scarlatti' doesn't sound like you had an affair with Spike."

"What could it be then?"

"I don't know. What else do you remember?"

"Nothing. Maybe I should ask Spike."

"Spike already confirmed that you and he did not have an affair."

Gwen was quiet. "Oh. You asked him."

"No, Shane asked him."

"So you're not upset?"

"No."

"And you don't think I would cheat on you?"

"No."

"Do you think maybe I could speak to Spike?"

Parker didn't think the idea was a good one, but he was willing to ease Gwen's mind. "I'll ask him to come over."

Gwen nodded her head. "I think I'll make some tea."

Gwen was skeptical. She looked at Parker and then at Spike. "You're sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Trust me. We did not have an affair," Spike said seriously.

"I didn't try and hit on you?"

Spike let out a hearty laugh. "Of course not."

"Not once?"

"Not once. But it's nice to know you heart me," Spike said with a laugh.

"It's not funny, Spike!" Gwen said as she frowned.

Spike looked at Parker briefly before addressing Gwen. "Sure it is, Gwen. Maybe not from where you're sitting, but from where I am – it's hilarious. Me and you – together." Spike continued to chuckle. He purposely tried to take a 'laughter' approach to the situation at hand because he knew that Gwen had been crying over this. "Gwen, what were you doing when this idea popped into your head?"

"Memory," Gwen automatically corrected.

Spike shook his head. "Not a memory if it didn't happen. I know that it feels like a memory to you, but it's not real. So I repeat, what were you doing?"

"I had unplugged my netbook from charging."

"And?"

"And I turned it on. And I waited for the – ". Gwen stopped speaking suddenly. "Oh crap! Of all things, it's…"

"It's what?" Parker asked.

Spike burst out laughing as he made the connection. He watched as Gwen covered her face with both hands and groaned. Gwen's reaction made Spike laugh even more.

"Spike?" Parker questioned.

Spike tried very hard to control his laughter, and only when he was sure that he wasn't going to burst out laughing, did he say, "The password prompt."

Parker looked at his wife, who was still hiding behind her hands, and put two and two together. "You're telling me that, "I heart Scarlatti' is Gwen's password?"

Spike grinned like he was 4 years old at Christmas time and nodded his head. "Was. I had to override the password awhile go, so yeah, it's been erased."

Gwen groaned again.

"So you heart me huh?" Spike said.

"Go away," Gwen mumbled.

"It's cute. And effective. The password, I mean. I would never have thought that would be it," Spike continued as if he didn't hear Gwen.

"Go away," Gwen mumbled again.

"Only if you take your hands away from your face," Spike teased.

Both Spike and Parker could see just how red faced Gwen was.

"No. Go away."

Spike looked at Parker and Parker nudged his head toward the door. Spike understood. "I'll see you later boss."

"Sweetheart, Spike is gone."

Gwen sighed but didn't remove her hands. "I know. I just feel so stupid."

When Parker didn't respond, Gwen peeked through two fingers. She just saw Parker staring at her with that really intense look.

Deciding it wasn't worth the effort to hide behind her hands, Gwen dropped them.

"This is where you're supposed to say I'm not stupid."

Parker gave a short grin before saying, "you already know that you're not stupid. I don't have to tell you that."

Gwen felt the tug at her lips and tried to suppress the smile.

Parker extended his hand and Gwen slipped hers into it.

"Since I am sure you haven't eaten anything, I'm going to order some takeout," Parker said.

"Sounds good."


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

It was three days later that everything went to hell.

Being a police officer Parker knew exactly what a gunshot sounded like. He didn't question his instinct and he didn't hesitate. Parker picked up his phone and dialed 911 and gave the attendant all the information: who he was, his rank, where he was, and what he suspected was in the house.

Parker then went to his trunk and grabbed his firearm before using his training as a police officer as he headed to the front door of Gwen's house.

There was forced entry at the door and Parker was on high alert. A vase that should have been on a high table was no longer there, and had been smashed into many pieces that lay on the floor.

Parker looked for the subject that had entered his wife's home. He heard the commotion before he saw the subject.

He saw Alfred on the ground covered in blood and his wife in tears, sobbing.

The subject hadn't seen Parker but raised his gun to fire a shot at Gwen.

Parker didn't hesitate, nor did he blink. He simply squeezed the trigger. The subject went down and would never move again.

Gwen had neither seen nor heard Parker and had been preparing for the worst when the intruder had raised the gun a second time. She closed her eyes and waited for the second shot, the one that would end her life. Gwen waited for the pain. Nothing happened.

"Gwendolyn. Look at me. Are you hurt?"

Gwen opened her eyes and looked at Parker who had appeared before her. She glanced at Parker and then at the body of the man who had forced his way into her house.

"Did you shoot him? Is he…"

"Yes."

"Parker, it's Alfred. Help me move him."

Parker looked at Alfred before putting two fingers to Alfred's neck. Parker found no pulse and that evidence showed on his face.

Gwen wasn't looking at Parker's face though, so she moved Alfred into position and started trying to resuscitate him.

Parker's eyes misted over as his wife was trying to resuscitate Alfred. The bullet didn't go straight through. It was still in Alfred's body. Alfred took the shot to the chest, just below the heart. His lungs would have filled up with blood. The wound was too serious and Alfred wasn't breathing. Parker knew that Gwen didn't want to make the call.

"Sweetheart…Gwendolyn, it's going to be okay."

Gwen barely made out what Parker was saying as she worked on Alfred.

"Gwendolyn, there's no pulse."

"Yes there is. There has to be."

"Sweetheart…"

"Get me my emergency bag!" Gwen yelled as she pointed in the direction of the cupboard. .

"Sweetheart, Alfred's gone."

"No. He's not. Get me my bag."

"Gwendolyn, he's gone."

Gwen made a move to get the bag and Parker grabbed her and held her. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I'm so sorry."

"No. No. No." Gwen struggled with Parker. "Let me go!"

Parker eased up on his hold and Gwen pushed Parker away. Gwen fell forward and landed near the subject's gun. She didn't even hesitate; Gwen picked up the gun, held it out in front of her, and pointed it at Parker.

Parker kept very still. Gwen's hand on the gun was shaking. Her whole body was shaking and Parker knew that Gwen was in shock. Training kept Parker calm and he waited for Gwen to make the first move.

"He's not gone. I can fix this," Gwen sobbed as the gun continued to waver in her hand. "Alfred jumped in front of me. He saved me. He's not going to go out like that. Not like that. I can't loose someone else like that. Not like that."

By this time Gwen's hand was shaking so hard, Parker feared the gun would go off unexpectedly.

Parker understood Gwen's position, and he made the connection instantly. A gunshot wound was how Gwen's first husband died. Greg Grayson was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had been caught in a police shoot out. It did not help that it was a dirty cop that had shot Greg Grayson. This was the main reason that Emmett and Shane did not like police officers, and the reason that Gwen was nervous around them.

Parker's heart was breaking. "Okay, Gwendolyn. Tell me what we need to do for Alfred."

Gwen's unconsciously lowered the gun a little. "My bag. I need my emergency bag."

Parker nodded his head. "I'll get the bag, but first you have to put the gun down."

Gwen nodded her head and this caused the tears she had been holding in to fall down her face. She didn't say anything, but she did lower the gun and place it back on the floor.

"Alfred…" Gwen said as she rushed over to him.

Parker got the emergency bag and Gwen got out the defibrillator.

Parker heard the sirens in the distance and knew that an ambulance was coming and went to let them in. As he neared the door, he heard the most amazing thing.

"I've got a pulse. It's weak, but it's there!"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

At the hospital, Gwen paced back and forth. She had ridden in the ambulance and had performed emergency surgery on Alfred while in the ambulance. It was an extremely risky procedure, completely against the rules, but it had given Alfred the extra time that he needed to get to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, Gwen had to wait outside the operating room. As per hospital procedure, she wasn't allowed to operate on family.

Emmett burst through the open door and when Gwen saw him she ran to him and threw herself in his arms.

"He can't die. Not like this Emmett. I need him. I still need him."

Emmett held Gwen even tighter. "Alfred's a fighter. He'll fight. We just have to wait. Where's Parker?"

"I don't know. I don't care."

Emmett was shocked at the venom that came from Gwen's mouth.

"Parker called me, and I was close by. I called Shane – no answer, and I called Ed."

Gwen kept crying, but Emmett managed to get Gwen to a chair and they both sat down.

It took a few moments, but Gwen calmed down.

Parker entered the waiting room a few minutes later.

When Gwen saw her husband, she was pushed to end of her limit.

"Get out."

Parker was surprised.

Emmett was shocked.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" Gwen yelled, each time her voice getting louder and louder.

"Gwenny, what's wrong? It's Parker," Emmett said.

"I know who it is, and I want him out of here. He's the one that just gave up."

Parker remained silent.

Emmett was confused.

"You don't give up on family!" Gwen yelled.

"Sis, calm down. Parker wouldn't – "

"Would you have given up that easy on me? Would you! If it was me on the floor, with a bullet in my chest, would you have given up so easily?" Gwen yelled again.

Again, Parker remained silent.

"Alfred jumped in front of me. He took a bullet that was intended for me, and you think I would just give up on him. That I wouldn't try to save him. You didn't even try Parker! You stupid cop! You stupid man! You didn't even try!"

Parker still didn't say anything.

"I don't want to see you. I'm done. I'm done with all of this. I want a divorce!"

Emmett gasped. "You don't mean that sis! Parker, she doesn't mean that."

"Yes I do. Get. Out."

Parker just nodded his head and left.

When he did, Gwen's legs gave way and she fell to the floor. Emmett rushed over to her and yanked her up hard against him.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded.

Gwen tried to catch her breath but it was hard.

Emmett gave Gwen a sharp shake.

"Stop taking short breathes. Take a big one and hold it," Emmett instructed.

Gwen did so.

"Good. Now let it out."

Gwen let the breath out.

"You mind telling me why you just ruined your marriage?"

Gwen's leg gave out again, and Emmett had to hold her.

"Sit down and start explaining."

Gwen sat down on a chair and wrapped her hands around her body.

"He didn't even try to save Alfred, Emmett. He just told me that Alfred was gone and that he was sorry."

Parker had explained to Emmett most of what happened because Emmett was closer to the hospital than he was. Emmett knew that Alfred was already shot when Parker arrived on the scene.

"I know that Alfred was near dead, sis. There wasn't a pulse. If it was anyone else besides family, would you have tried to resuscitate them?"

Gwen looked at Emmett and then at her hands. She mumbled something, and that something sounded a lot like 'no'.

Emmett just held Gwen.

"Okay. You're upset, I get that. But sis, Parker should be the one holding you right now, not me. Sis, the things you said…"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I want to focus on Alfred. He's going to need help when he wakes up."

Emmett nodded but wasn't sure if Alfred was even going to make it through the night. "We'll figure something out."

"I could move back and take care of him and – "

"Alfred wouldn't want you to move back."

"Yeah, I know."

Gwen looked at Emmett. "I think I made a mistake."

"Then fix it."

Gwen nodded. "I'm going to make a phone call."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Spike grabbed his phone and looked at the caller ID. G. Parker, it said. It was always easy to differentiate his boss from his boss' wife. Since both of their initials started with the letter "G", Spike had ended up using 'Sergeant' to identify Parker and 'G' for Gwen.

"Hey Gwen, what's up?" Spike said with his usual amount of enthusiasm.

"Spike? I need you to do me a favour."

Spike could hear the tension in Gwen's voice, and the sniffles that she was obviously trying to keep in.

"Tell me what happened, Gwen."

"There's been an accident. This man came into my home with a gun. I'm at the hospital. The man is dead. Alfred's been shot."

Spike was standing in a second. "Gwen, all you need to do is stay on the line with me and keep talking, okay?"

"Okay."

"We're not at work Gwen. I'm not sure where Parker is, but I'll call him and let him know. He'll be there as soon as he can. What hospital are you at?"

"I sent Parker away."

Spike was confused. "What? The boss was there and you sent him away. Why would you do that?"

"I yelled at him, Spike. I was really angry. I thought he…I was wrong and I told him to go away and he did."

Spike could hear the sniffles in Gwen's voice now. She was obviously crying, and part of Spike wanted to be there for Gwen as she had been there for Lou.

"Gwen, have you called him?"

"No. I just…I have to stay here with Alfred. I'm trying to think positively but I saw him before he went into surgery Spike. I know what a bullet does to a body and Alfred is old and he can't fight like he used to. I don't think Alfred's going to make it, Spike, and I'm really scared to live in a world with no Alfred."

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. Is there anyone there with you now? I can call Ed."

"Emmett's here with me. Shane and Ed are on the way here."

"That's good. What do you need from me?"

"I need you to make sure Parker is okay."

"You want me to swing by your house?"

"Yes. Could you make sure that he's okay and that he not…drinking? That I didn't make him so angry at me that he's drinking."

Spike had the chills. He didn't like this conversation and while he was sure that Parker wouldn't drink, there was this nagging thought in the back of his head that was causing him to worry. The fact that Gwen thought Parker might take a drink was enough for Spike to run out the door and speed all the way over to the Parker household.

"I'll leave right now. It shouldn't take me that long to get to your house."

"Thanks Spike."

Spike arrived at the Parker household and saw Parker's car in the driveway.

As Spike walked up to the front door, he noticed that Parker had left the door ajar.

Spike knocked and slowly pushed the door open a couple of inches. It wouldn't be good to enter a house of an SRU officer without identifying yourself first. Training made Spike call out. "Boss? You in here? Sarge?"

Spike opened the door fully, took a step inside and waited. He heard shuffling coming from his right and came face to face with his boss.

"Spike? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?"

Spike looked at Parker and couldn't believe that this was the same man that he worked day in and day out with. Parker looked a mess. He had obviously been crying and he looked physically exhausted.

"I'm alright, boss. I just came to make sure everything was good here." Spike kept his voice light, but it didn't matter, Parker would pick up on the worry in it anyhow. He always did. Parker was just too good at picking up nuances and body language.

"I've been better."

"Yeah? You want to talk about it boss?"

Parker looked at Spike and noticed what the young man was wearing. Spike was wearing a green stripped pyjama bottom and an orange t-shirt that read, 'Bomb technician. If you see me running, try and keep up'. All of a sudden, something clicked.

"Gwendolyn sent you."

It was said as a statement and not a question.

Spike gave a quick smile. "Yeah. She called me and asked me to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine. You didn't have to come over here. You can leave."

Spike knew that Parker might get defensive. After all, it was the most logical reaction to being checked up on by your subordinate. "She said you two had a fight and that she was angry but she was wrong."

Parker glanced at Spike. "She was wrong?"

Spike shook his shoulders. "It's what she said."  
>"What else did she say?"<p>

"She doesn't think Alfred's going to make it."

Parker closed his eyes and sighed.

"Boss, Gwen's really worried that she made you angry enough to…well, to take a drink."

Parker opened his eyes. "I get it. Once a drunk, always a drunk."

"No, boss. It's not even like that."

"Then explain to what it's like. Tell me how I'm supposed to fix this with my wife. Tell me how I'm supposed to save our marriage when she's done with it. Tell me how I'm going to stop my wife from wanting to divorce me."

Spike was shocked. Gwen hadn't mentioned any of that in their conversation. "I didn't know that's what the fight was about. Gwen just said she was wrong, boss."

Parker nodded his head.

"I'm not going to drink Spike. I know better than that."

"I know you do. I didn't come here thinking you would, I came here because Gwen asked me to."

Parker gave Spike the once over look and decided to believe him. "It's late. You want to crash here?"

"A sleepover? Awesome!"

Parker had to smile at Spike's enthusiasm. "You seemed dressed for one already," Parker said as he pointed at Spike's shirt.

"Oh yeah. My niece got me this shirt. She thought it was funny. Me? Not so much. Ma says I can't throw it out cause it was a gift, so I usually wear it to sleep in."

"You weren't worried about me, huh? Yet you drove over here in your pyjamas?"

Spike smiled. "Hey, not a lot of people get to see me dressed like this. Consider yourself lucky."

Parker would never know how Spike did it, but just being there and talking to him comforted Parker and gave him a little peace of mind.

"I'm lucky Spike, I know."

Parker was so sincere when he said it, that Spike thought the man might break down and cry some more.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Gwen stared at the SRU building and willed herself to get out of her car. It didn't seem to be happening so Gwen decided that five more minutes in her car was not necessarily a bad idea. She was sitting in her car in the visitor's parking spot and was terrified.

Of course five more minutes turned into five more, and Gwen briefly wondered if a police officer was going to become suspicious and approach her. That was the last things she wanted, so slowly, Gwen opened the door to her car and stepped out. Mentally preparing her for whatever situation lay inside the building, Gwen closed her car door. She paused, looked at the SRU building, and began to move toward the doors.

The short distance she had to cover to the main doors felt too short for Gwen. She wanted time; time to think, time to prepare what to say, time to reflect.

Even the doors felt heavy when Gwen pulled them open. She gave the police officer who was on his way out a small smile and moved out of his way.

Gwen simply stood still for a moment before making her way to the main reception area. Gwen gave a silent prayer, hoping that Winnie would be the officer on duty. While she did not have anything against all the other officers who manned the station, Gwen liked Winnie, and Winnie liked her.

It was a small comfort when Gwen rounded the corner and Winnie's face came into view. Winnie gave Gwen a welcoming smile. Gwen tried to return the favour, but was sure that her face showed anything but happiness on it. She could only hope that Winnie didn't ask her if anything was wrong. Gwen thought that she might not be able to stop the tears that would follow if asked that question.

"Hi Gwen. You're in luck. There have been no hot calls today. Team one is getting in a workout. You good to just go on back?"

Luck must have been on Gwen's side as Gwen realized the silver plate that was being offered; she could slip by the station and head to the back where Parker would be and wouldn't have to explain anything.

"Yeah. I'm good. Thanks Winnie."

Gwen let her feet take her in the direction of the workout room. It wasn't that hard to find. The only problem was that she knew how open the room was. There would be other members of team one there and Gwen wasn't sure how things would go down. It's not like she was there to cause a scene, but she wasn't sure how angry Parker might be. They had never had a fight…that she could remember. Gwen's anger over Alfred had dissipated. While Gwen was angry at the situation, she wasn't angry at Parker. She knew she had said purposely hurtful words, and she wanted to fix them.

The walk to the workout area felt longer than it actually was. Gwen tried to remain hidden from view. She peeked in and saw Parker working with Wordy. They were running through some sort of self defense drill. They were practicing so those two hadn't seen Gwen yet. Sam and Spike were working together, while Jules and Eddie were on the punching bag. It always amazed Gwen that Jules was so strong.

Gwen took 3 small steps forward and froze. She had a cowardly thought – she wanted to turn tail and get out of there, but dignity had her rooted in place. Spike had seen her and was most likely going to make a huge scene if she turned tail and sprinted to her car. Gwen wasn't sure how fast Parker could run, but she had seen Spike run and wasn't willing to take the risk of being chased through a police station by a police officer.

While Wordy and Parker had yet to spot Gwen, Spike had spotted her the moment she came into view. He noticed that she was hesitant to interrupt the training. Gwen had not called to check in on Parker last night, so Spike knew that she had dropped by the station to speak to Parker in person. Spike was relieved that Gwen had shown up. The night before Spike had sent Gwen a simple text message to let her know that Parker was okay and that she should concentrate on Alfred. That morning when he woke up, Spike was uncomfortable being in the Parker household. Parker had made breakfast, and Spike and he ate in near silence. Spike was just happy that Wordy was working with Parker this morning and not him.

Not even giving Gwen another glance, Spike made his way over to Parker. He waited until Wordy and Parker had finished the sequence before he said quietly, "Boss, you've got an admirer," and tilted his head in Gwen's direction.

Parker looked up and saw Gwen. While he was still slightly angry, seeing her looking like a wreck, made his heart melt. Every instinct in his body told him to comfort Gwen. Parker knew that last nights event had had a huge mental and physical toll on Gwen and that she needed some space, but he was really upset that Gwen had thought all those things about him.

As Parker looked at Gwen, he noticed the telltale signs of a cryfest. Gwen's lips started to tremble and her eyes began to tear up.

Parker took a few steps forward and when he was less than 6 feet from Gwen, she spoke.

"Hi," Gwen managed to say before the tears fell from her eyes.

Parker took those last few steps and enveloped Gwen in a protective hug. Gwen hugged him back, but Parker could feel the tension in her body.

Parker could feel the eyes of his team members on his back and knew that they were trying not to eavesdrop by pretending to be busy. It was pretty hard not to eavesdrop in such a small space, so Parker knew that he had to get Gwen someplace relatively private.

"Come with me. We can talk over here," Parker said gently, and began manoeuvring her in the direction he wanted them to go.

Parker barely made it into the briefing room when Gwen threw her arms around his neck and held on, burying her head into his chest. Parker allowed himself to close his eyes for a brief second and simply hold his wife.

Gwen cried but held on to Parker like he was a lifeline. When she eased up on the hug she looked at Parker's serious face.

"I was wrong and hurtful," Gwen said quietly.

Parker heard her, and nodded his head once in acknowledgment. There were so many things he had wanted to say to her, but now he felt that they were not even important in the scheme of things.

"I'm sorry, Parker. I don't want a divorce. I want to stay married to you."

Parker had never heard such wonderful words before. The statement made all the difference in the world.

"I want to stay married to you too."

Gwen smiled and used one hand to wipe her face.

"Alfred made it. He'll be in the hospital for awhile, and then he'll need some physical therapy and a lot of home care, but he made it."

"I know."

"Oh. Emmett?"

"No, I called the hospital to check on him this morning."

"And they just told you?"

"Being a police officer has its perks."

"Oh, right."

"We need to talk Gwendolyn. About last night. About you picking up the gun."

"I know. I'm sorry. I should never have done that."

"No, you shouldn't."

"Am I going to be in trouble?"

"No. Maybe we can discuss this at home?"

"Home? Home sounds good."

"I love you Gwendolyn."

"I…I'm sorry Parker."

"I know."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Three weeks later, Spike visited the Parker household for an entirely different reason. Gwen's computer kept getting Trojans and she wanted a better virus protection program installed. Since it was the main computer, Spike had no choice but to go over to his boss's home…again. He was just hoping that the atmosphere was not as tense as it had been at work.

Spike knew exactly what program he wanted on the Parker's computer. The program was downloaded and put into place quite quickly, and Spike was heading downstairs when he smelled it.

Gwen had baked some more cookies and Spike couldn't wait to eat them.

Parker saw Spike's face as he came to the last step.

"I'll take cookies in lieu of payment anytime boss."

"I think that was the point Spike, since you refused to take any of my wife's money. Gwendolyn put some away for you to take home, but here, help yourself," Parker said as he pointed to the plateful of cookies on the coffee table.

Spike began eating a cookie happily.

"She's made lunch, Spike. You might want to slow down."

Spike looked torn. "Um…maybe I'll just stick with cookies," he said in a slightly hushed tone.

Parker's eyebrow furred together until he thought about Spike's answer. "Lunch is made with real food," Parker answered back in a hushed tone so that Gwen could not hear him.

"No healthy, um, substitutes?"

Parker shook his head and successfully suppressed a chuckle. "Apparently you get to eat anything, while I have to suffer healthy alternatives. So having you here is a good thing. I get to eat real food."

Spike's smile was boisterous. "I can always bring you some of ma's leftovers boss."

Parker chuckled. "Gwendolyn would start to notice when I come home full each day."

"And fat. If my ma found out what Gwen's been feeding you, she'd swoop in just to save you. Course then she'd stuff you like a turkey. The trick is to pace yourself."

Parker and Spike continued to chat in the living room when Gwen's cell phone rang. Gwen liked to keep her phone in one place when it wasn't in her purse. It made finding the thing easier. The one place she kept the cell phone was the coffee table. Parker picked the cell phone off the table to look at the caller ID.

"Sweetheart, it's a Dr. S. Fulton," he said with a raised voice.

Gwen ran into the room as fast as she could and took the phone from Parker's hand not saying anything.

Spike raised his eyebrows at the action, and Parker just sat there was a serious look plastered on his face.

Gwen didn't bother leaving the room, so Spike and Parker listened to half of Gwen's phone conversation.

"Doctor, you got the results?"

Mumble, mumble.

"What did the results say?"

Mumble, mumble.

"Are you sure?"

Mumble, mumble.

"I want to run the tests again."

Mumble, mumble.

"I don't care if you ran them twice already. There's a mistake."

Mumble, mumble.

"No, you're wrong."

Mumble, mumble.

"Fine!"

Mumble, mumble.

"Things like this just don't happen."

Mumble, mumble.

"Rabbits, humph. Don't be a smart ass!"

Mumble, mumble.

"Fine, schedule the next test and we'll see!"

Mumble, mumble.

"Fine."

Mumble, mumble.

"I said 'fine'. What more do you want? Freakin' cartwheels?"

Mumble, mumble.

"Good, good."

Mumble, mumble.

"I can pick up the results immediately?"

Mumble, mumble.

"Bye."

Gwen hung up the phone and dumped the phone on the table not too carefully. It was only when she looked up that she remembered that Spike and Parker were still in the room. Now she was staring at two equally curious faces.

"What?"

"Rabbits?" Spike stated.

Gwen blushed and looked at her cookies on the table. "Just waiting on a patient's test results."

Gwen quickly grabbed a cookie and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Not what you were hoping for?" Parker asked.

"Not what I was expecting, but we'll see how things play out."

Parker and Spike exchanged a glance that both said they knew Gwen wasn't telling the entire truth.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Ed had noticed the slight change in Parker's behaviour over the last 2 days. It was subtle at first, and most likely the team hadn't caught on yet, but if things kept going the way they did, someone from the team would say something. Not that any of the team would say that 'something' to the boss beyond the, 'hey, you okay?'; no, they would corner Ed and have him talk to the boss. That was the joy of being 'team leader'.

Knowing this, Ed decided to take the direct approach and face the situation head on. At least then he would know what he was dealing with.

As usual, when Ed couldn't find Parker training, he was in the briefing room writing reports. While it wasn't unusual for Parker to be writing reports, it was unusual for him to stare out the window for long periods of time just thinking. Usually Parker was the most focused team member, but the last few days, Ed noticed that Parker's ability to focus was being influenced by something else. Ed wondered just what was going on now. Parker and he had already talked about the Alfred issue, and since Alfred recovery and therapy was going as well as could be expected, Parker wouldn't be losing focus over that issue.

As Ed entered the briefing room, Parker turned the chair to face him.

"Hey Eddie. Something wrong?"

It always amazed Ed that Parker would ask if something was wrong with his team first, before admitting that he was the one that needed to talk.

"Greg, what's going on?" Ed asked in his no nonsense tone.

Parker looked at Ed. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Parker sighed and Ed knew that whatever it was that was going on, it had to do with his sister…again.

"Ed…just leave it alone."

Ed knew that Parker needed to talk, so he decided to call him on his bluff. "Okay."

Ed turned around and acted like he was going to leave Parker to contemplate his thoughts some more. He got within 2 feet of exiting the briefing room when Parker spoke again.

"You're not going to like it, buddy."

Ed already knew that when Parker had answered 'nothing'. "I'm not going to like what, Greg?"

"You're not going to like what I'm thinking, Eddie."

Ed took a deep breath in and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Well, what are you thinking?"

Parker stood up from his chair only to sit down on the briefing room table. Now the two SRU men were almost at equal height. Parker folded his hands over his chest.

"I think Gwendolyn is pregnant."

Ed was surprised but did his best to cover the shock that briefly crossed his face. Instead he just sighed. "Greg, you've been through this before and it didn't turn out all that great the first time."

"I know. That's why I didn't want to say anything."

Ed looked at Parker. Not saying anything was probably the best answer, yet there was something in Parker's body language that caused Ed to question the silence.

"You got any proof, Greg?"

"Not exactly."

"Gwen say anything to you?"

"No."

"So nothing directly said. You pick up on body language then?"

"Not as of yet."

"Pregnancy test?"

"No."

"Greg, you've got me a hint here."

"A phone call."

"A phone call?"

Parker could hear the skepticism in Ed's voice.

"Yup. One side of a conversation that I overhead."

"Right. Anything else boss?"

"Mood swings, increased nausea throughout the day."

"That could be anything. She could just be sick."

"I know."

Ed really looked at Parker. He had that look on his face that made him look like a lost puppy. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

Ed was really surprised now. "Nothing?"

"What can I do? She's got to come to me this time."

"Good plan."

"Yeah."

"How's it working for you?"

Parker grimaced, but remained silent. Ed smiled. "You really want to just ask her right?"

Parker nodded his head. "It would make things easier."

"Easier for you."

"Yeah."

"Greg, you think about what it might be like to have another kid?"

"Yeah, Eddie, I do."

"We don't exactly have the best jobs for raising kids."

"You manage with Sophie."

"You're right. I do."

"Gwendolyn's probably not pregnant Ed, but there might be a chance."

"Greg…you've got to let it go. You and Dean are doing great. Focus on that. Because if you don't…you're going to end up hurting Gwen."

Parker inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling. "I know."


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Gwen glanced at her phone and read the short text she got. 'Still on time. Come get me,' it read. There were a few oxoxoxox's attached, and Gwen shook her head wondering who still actually wrote that.

The text was from Parker, reminding Gwen to pick up her husband his shift was finished.

Gwen's mood was varying lately. While she had no problem picking Parker up at work, she didn't want to go there so soon after her meltdown. Sure it had been just about a month since that fiasco at headquarters, but police officers had long memories, and Parker's SRU family was…well, family to Parker. Gwen wasn't sure just how much they knew about the relations between herself and her husband.

Of course Gwen wasn't cowardly and did go pick Parker up. It wouldn't be right to strand her husband at the police station when his car was in for repairs.

It was Wordy who saw Gwen first as she arrived at SRU headquarters.

"Doctor Grayson-Parker, nice to see you again," Wordy said.

Gwen stopped short. Surely she had heard Wordy incorrectly.

"Constable Wordsworth, what did you call me?"

The pitch in Gwen's voice raised ever so slightly, and Wordy heard it. He wasn't sure if Gwen heard it. He also wondered what the big deal was.

"Um, 'Doctor Grayson-Parker'…"

"You're kidding right? I took Parker's name and no one told me? Even my so called husband didn't tell me about it. Seriously?"

"Um…sorry?"

Gwen looked at Wordy, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but standing in front of Gwen. "No, I'm sorry Wordy. I just didn't remember that. I…wow, I keep learning new things. It's okay. I'm getting used to it by now."

Wordy felt like he opened a can of worms. "Oh…you usually insist that I call you Gwen."

Gwen was spared from answering Wordy by Sam's enthusiastic voice.

"Hey Doc, got any of those chocolate cookies," Sam asked.

Spike, who came up behind Sam, whacked Sam over the back of the head. "Don't be sucking up now that you're also addicted to them."

Spike paused as he gave Gwen a huge smile. Gwen couldn't help but smile back, as Spike's personality was infectious.

"Hey Gwen, how are you? That's good. Did you bring any cookies?" Spike said as his sentences flowed out as a rapid pace.

Sam whacked Spike over the back of the head just as Jules, Ed and Parker approached them.

"Hey guys, and superwoman Jules."

Gwen frowned as soon as she finished calling Jules that name.

"Superwoman? Wow, sorry Jules, I don't know where that came from."

Jules laughed. "You call me that all the time."

"I do? And you haven't beaten me up yet and taken my lunch money?"

"Nah, boss might object to that!" Jules said with a wink.

Gwen turned her attention to Parker. "Hi."

Parker smiled for his wife. "Hi. A visit from you at headquarters…I'm a lucky man."

Gwen bit her bottom lip. "Yes, you are lucky."

"Let me shower and get dressed, and I'll take you out to dinner."

"Oh, can I come?" Spike asked.

It was Ed who whacked him over the head this time.

"I was only kidding. Geez!"

Parker gave Gwen a kiss on the check before turning to head to the showers.

"Wait!"

The whole of team one turned around.

"Wow. You guys even turn around like a team," Gwen said as she smiled and giggled.

A half second later Gwen's phone rang and she answered it.

"Hello. You have the results?"

Parker watched as his wife's face grew concerned.

"Are you 100% sure?"

Parker heard a mumbled answer.

The change in Gwen's body language was immediate. Parker didn't even think Gwen realized that she dropped the phone, even after it made a loud clang as it made contact with the tiles.

"I think…I'm…going to…be sick."

Parker was at Gwen's side even before she had finished her laboured sentence. "Sweetheart, look at me. Tell me what happened."

Gwen looked at Parker's face. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Gwen wasn't even trying to make sense.

By this time Ed picked had already picked up the phone. It wasn't broken. "This is constable Ed Lane of the SRU. With whom am I speaking?"

Parker didn't even bother to look at Ed as he was trying to get his wife to talk. Talking would help Gwen remain calm. Gwen instinctively grabbed Parker's hand and squeezed hard. Parker knew that Gwen didn't know she was doing it.

"Sweetheart? I need you to concentrate on my voice. That's all you have to do for me."

"Greg? I think you need to take this. I'm not the husband" Ed said, as he held out the phone.

Parker frowned and grabbed the phone. "This is Sergeant Gregory Parker of the SRU. Gwendolyn Grayson-Parker is my wife. I need you to tell me what you said to her."

"Sergeant Parker. This is Doctor Fulton. Is Dr. Grayson, pardon me, Dr. Grayson-Parker okay?"

Parker looked at Gwen, who was starring at Parker's chest. "She's in shock."

"Oh. Well, she would be."

Parker wanted to reach through the phone and strangle Dr. Fulton.

"Why is that," Parker said rather crisply.

"Sergeant Parker, I just told your wife that she is pregnant."


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Parker's eyebrows went straight up. Surely he hadn't heard that correctly. "Come again?"

"She's pregnant. She is expecting a baby."

Parker looked at his wife who was now staring at him with big, round eyes.

"You're sure Doctor Fulton?"

"Yes, I ran the results twice. Once a few days ago and then again today. Dr. Grayson-Parker really needs to come in for an ultrasound. I want to make sure everything is okay and that there are no complications."

"I'll see that she does. Thank you doctor," and with that Parker hung up the phone, stashing it somewhere on his body.

"Bad news Greg?" Ed asked, worried.

Parker spared Ed a quick glance. "No…good news…really good news."

Gwen was in shock and Parker needed her to snap out of it.

"Sweetheart? Gwendolyn?"

"I'm…" Gwen's voice trailed off.

'I know, Gwendolyn. Let's take it slow, okay." Parker looked at Spike and Ed. "Spike, can you get my wife a chair please."

Spike instantly followed Parker's order. Parker was glad that this happened at headquarters. His second family never panicked.

"I'm…" Gwen tried again and failed to complete the sentence.

"She's what?" Ed demanded, his voice becoming aggressive.

"Gwendolyn is pregnant," Parker said as Spike brought the chair and Gwen sat in it.

Ed was surprised. He and Gwen had talked about a possible pregnancy the first time around when Parker thought she was pregnant, so Ed knew of her situation and how hard it would be for Gwen to actually conceive. Ed also knew how she felt about kids, and what the odds were that Gwen was able to carry the baby to full term. Thinking of nothing he else to say, Ed went with, "Congratulations, man."

Parker smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm pregnant," Gwen whispered. Her hands had dug into Parker's arm and were holding him tight. The grip didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

"Yes, I know," Parker said with a smile.

Gwen looked at Parker's face. She saw the happiness that spread across it and was immediately reminded about what might happen if she actually conceived a baby. "Don't look like that Parker!"

Parker wasn't worried about her reaction. He just wanted Gwen to keep talking so he could figure out where her head was. "Look like what, sweetheart?"

"Parker, you know there's a really good chance that I'll loose the baby. Oh God! It's a baby. A real baby inside me. Holy crap, I'm pregnant!"

Parker noticed that Gwen's body was relaxing and that her thoughts were coming in full sentences now. "Dr. Fulton says you need to have an ultrasound." Parker knew that an ultrasound was the next step. There they would figure out exactly what would happen with the baby.

Gwen looked up at the ceiling before answering. "I booked one for tomorrow."

Parker simply raised his eyebrows. "You thought you might be pregnant?"

"Yes…I…it was little things at first."

"I see."

"I didn't want to get your hopes up."

Parker understood now. Out of the two of them, Parker was the one that was the happiest.

"We'll take it one step at a time, sweetheart."

Gwen gave Parker an encouraging smile before it disappeared. "Oh no."

"What?"

"My tea. I can't have any tea now."

Team one which had gathered around and had remained quiet, watching the interaction between husband and wife, chuckled at Gwen's response.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

"So…you hoping for a boy or girl?" Spike asked.

Gwen couldn't help but smile. "A boy. I want Dean to have a baby brother. Brothers are important, you know."

Spike smiled. "I have a sister."

Gwen smiled. "Yeah, but she has you. And you're important to her. See?"

Spike chuckled at Gwen's logic. It didn't make any sense to him, but he would let her say whatever she thought.

Gwen continued with her thoughts. "And I want…I want a boy that looks like Parker…but with hair. Don't tell Parker I said that. He might be a little sensitive about it."

Spike snorted, as he knew Parker could care less about what little hair he had on his head. "What does the boss want?"

"He wants a little girl. I guess he figures he has a boy."

"Aww. That's so cute!"

Gwen heard the tiny amount of playful teasing in Spike's voice and gave him a sharp poke. "Why are you even here?"

Spike had arrived at the Parker household a few hours ago. Parker had let him in and when Gwen woke from a nap she found Spike in her home and no Parker. She wasn't worried though. Spike was good company.

Spike smiled. "Oh, you know. I'm making sure you don't do anything stupid like lifting heavy objects, dancing until your feet fall off, exercising, drinking tea, that sort of thing."

"Right. You're here to babysit me."

Spike smiled. "Of course. Someone has to take care of you while the boss goes out."

"Where did he go?"

"Well, there's this thing at work and since he's a sergeant and all, he has to – "

Gwen held up her hand. She had remembered Parker mentioning a meeting that morning, but had momentarily forgotten. Parker said the meeting would last a few hours and that Spike wanted to come over and hang out with her.

Spike had even brought over some home cooked Italian food. Gwen was grateful as she didn't feel like cooking now that her pregnancy was a few months along. She was almost out of the danger stage, but she was told to take it easy by the doctor.

"You know, on my list of things pregnant women can do, there is only one thing you can do…" Spike said.

"Nap and get fat?"

"Nope."

Spike smiled.

Gwen waited for Spike to continue. "Well?"

"Keep in mind that I have a sister who has made me an Uncle, so I know what I'm talking about."

"Okay. I'm intrigued."

"Well, the one thing you can do that is perfectly safe for you and the baby is make cookies. Preferably Hershey Kiss cookies, and lots so that I can take some home."

Gwen laughed. "Not a chance. Go buy some."

Spike groaned. "You can't buy them! Wait, can you buy some?"

Gwen just smiled like the Cheshire cat.

Spike gave Gwen his best smile before saying, "besides, yours are the best!"

"Not a chance, Spike."

"I'll fix your computer."

"It's not broken. And don't even think about messing it up. I'll take it to the store to be fixed."

Spike quickly thought some more about it and came up empty.

"I'm scared, Spike."

That threw Spike. "About what?"

"About the baby."

"Why? You'd make a great mom."

"I can't think that far ahead."

"You think you're going to lose the baby?"

"Yes. And it's going to kill Parker."

Spike was surprised that Gwen hadn't said that it would kill the both of them. "What do the doctors say?"

"That as far as they can tell, it's a normal pregnancy."

'That's good, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you thinking negative thoughts?"

"I guess I'm preparing for the worst."

"Please tell me that you and Sarge are talking to one another."

Gwen gave Spike a slight nod. "Yes, Spike, we are talking to one another. He's supportive, of course, and I don't want to worry him, but I'm still scared."

"One day at a time, Gwen. That's all you can do. So when do I drive you for the test?"

Gwen understood now. Parker couldn't make the ultrasound, so he had sent a team member in his place. She briefly wondered why Spike was sent and not Ed, but then Ed probably wouldn't want to be in the same room when his pregnant sister was getting a test.

"You're taking me?"

Spike looked confused. "Of course. The boss didn't say anything to you?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not planning on coming in with me, are you?"

Spike looked like he was going to be sick. "Not unless you want me to."

"It might be good for you. Eventually you'll have a whole bunch of Scarlatti kids."

Spike nodded his head. He hadn't thought when Parker called him that he would have to go in to the appointment with Gwen.

"If you need me, I'll be there."

Gwen absolutely loved Spike right there.

Later that evening, after Gwen had gone for an ultrasound and come home to a meal cooked by Parker, Gwen pulled out an envelope and handed it to Parker.

Parker opened the envelope and pulled out a document but couldn't make too much sense of it. It was a medical document.

"What's this?"

Gwen bit her lip again. She pulled out another envelope from her bag and handed it to Parker.

"Wrong one. Here, this one you'll understand."

Parker pulled out an ultrasound picture. For a second he could hardly breathe. This was his baby inside Gwen. His baby. His second chance. Parker already had Dean, but he had missed so much from Dean's life. This baby would be his second chance.

Gwen stared at Parker and couldn't help the smile that graced her face. Parker stared at the picture and couldn't help the smile that graced his face.

"Is this the baby?" Parker couldn't finish his sentence without his voice cracking.

"Yes."

"Gwendolyn, don't take this the wrong way sweetheart, but which one is the baby?" Parker asked without looking up.

"Really?"

Parker looked at his wife with puppy dog eyes.

Gwen shook her head while biting her bottom lip. "You know…"

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><p>Hello everyone. I am officially back. Had an interesting past 6 months. This story is finished, and I will be uploading the last few chapters. Enjoy.<p> 


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Gwen shook her head while biting her bottom lip. "You know how you said you always wanted another child?"

Parker nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Well…" Gwendolyn hesitated. She wasn't sure how Parker was going to take the news. "Now you're getting two."

Parker's mouth dropped. "Twins?"

"Yup."

"You're carrying twins?"

"Yes."

"Two babies?"

"Isn't that what twins are?"

"And you're okay? You're still safe?"

"Yeah. It's a normal pregnancy. Nothing has changed. Well, except now we're having two babies."

"How far along are you?"

"Just shy of 4 months."

Parker did the math in his head. "4 months…that's…"

"Niagara Falls. When you almost didn't want to have sex…with me."

Parker shook his head, trying to grasp the situation. "It's a good thing you were persistent."

"Yeah. It's a good thing."

"Is that why you're so big?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows, and Parker realized his mistake. "I meant beautiful. Stunning. Dazzling."

"Uh-huh, right."

"Sweetheart, I love you."

"I know."

Parker smiled. "You know, you're not showing that much."

"Stop talking."

The first person that Gwen had called with the news was Emmett, then Shane, then Alfred. Her favourite three men were taken care of. Emmett was excited, now he was going to have two nieces or nephews to tease instead of one. Shane was a little detached. He would find it hard to interact with the babies as he wasn't really fond of children. Both brothers would make great Uncles though.

Gwen had wanted to call Ed and Roy but knew that Parker would want to do that himself. They had agreed on telling Dean together when he visited in one week time. Gwen was nervous about meeting Dean for the first time, but of course, she wasn't meeting him for the first time. Her memory still hadn't returned, and Gwen was okay with that. She was simply not thinking about it anymore, or if a situation came up that caused her to be reminded of her memory loss, the results were getting easier and easier to handle.

Gwen tried not to eavesdrop on Ed and Parker's conversation, and so far it was working. Ed, however, had different plans and had wanted to speak to Gwen after he had finished talking to Parker.

Grabbing the phone from Parker, Gwen answered, "Hello Ed."

"So, what do I get to call my nieces or nephews? What names have you discussed?" Ed immediately asked.

"We haven't done that yet." Gwen was careful with what she said, as Parker was a few feet from her.

"Greg didn't bring it up," Ed asked.

"Not yet."

"That doesn't mean he isn't thinking about names."

Gwen smiled. "I haven't thought about any…not something definite that I like yet."

"You've got time."

"Yeah. Time."

"Our kids can play together now," Ed said, offhand.

"Yeah. Clark and Dean, and your little princess and my little boys or girls." When Gwen had finished saying this, Parker's head snapped in her direction. The ultrasound couldn't tell if the twins were boys or girls yet. It was too early.

Ed smiled. "Soph can't wait to be an Aunt."

Gwen chuckled. "I know. What about you? You're going to be an uncle."

"I'm going to be the best Uncle."

Gwen knew that Ed was competitive, and didn't want her children to love one Uncle more than the others. "Of course you will be. Ed, the babies will love you."

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><p>One more chapter to upload. It will be up in a few days. Cheers.<p> 


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